Internal markets and health care efficiency: a multiple-output stochastic frontier analysis
提出多产出随机前沿模型，并用瑞典县级医院数据检验购买者与提供者分离及产出导向支付对技术效率的影响，发现产出导向支付可提升效率并节省约10%成本。
This paper has two purposes. The first purpose is methodological and aims to extend previous work on efficiency analysis by implementing a multiple-output stochastic ray frontier production function model. This model generalizes the single-output stochastic frontier model to multiple-input, multiple-output technologies and allows simultaneous estimation of technical efficiency and analysis of influential variables on efficiency. The second, empirical, purpose is to test for existence and magnitude of the effect of purchaser/provider split combined with new reimbursement schemes on technical efficiency in the Swedish public hospital system. The analysis is carried out with a panel data set covering the total population of 26 Swedish County Councils from 1989 to 1995. Our empirical results support the frontier model specification and indicate that output-based reimbursement improves technical efficiency. The potential saving in costs due to a switch from budget-based allocation to output-based allocation is estimated to be almost 10%.