A Panel Data Design for Estimation of Hospital Cost Functions
用面板数据技术估计多产出医院成本函数，允许不可观测个体效应与可观测变量相关。分析1987-1991年1733家机构，发现面板模型显示正向规模经济且随时间略降，而传统截面方法得出负向规模经济。
This paper estimates a multiple-output hospital cost function using a panel data technique that allows for correlation between unobservable individual effects and observable determinants of behavior. Analysis of 1733 facilities for the period of 1987-1991 yields estimates that differ widely from those obtained from a more standard cross-sectional procedure. While the latter method results in negative and stable measures of ray economies of scale, the panel model indicates positive economies of scale that fall slightly over time. © 1997 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology