Market structure and gender disparity in health care: preferences, competition, and quality of care

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: McDevitt, Ryan C.; Roberts, James W.
• 署名单位: Duke University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12044
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 116-139
• 关键词: urology; bladder; women; outcomes; entry; GOODS; MODEL

摘要

We consider the relationship between market structure and health outcomes in a setting where patients have stark preferences: urology patients disproportionately match with a urologist of the same gender. In the United States, however, fewer than 6% of urologists are women despite women constituting 30% of patients. We explain a portion of this disparity with a model of imperfect competition in which urology groups strategically differentiate themselves by employing female urologists. These strategic effects may influence women's health, as markets without a female urologist have a 7.3% higher death rate for female bladder cancer, all else equal.