MODELING INTERREGIONAL PATIENT MOBILITY: THEORY AND EVIDENCE FROM SPATIALLY EXPLICIT DATA

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Irlacher, Michael; Pennerstorfer, Dieter; Renner, Anna-Theresa; Unger, Florian
• 署名单位: Johannes Kepler University Linz; Technische Universitat Wien; University of Gottingen
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.1111/iere.12635
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 1493-1532
• 关键词: health-care; accessibility; gravity; time; inequalities; migration; geography; internet; distance; demand

摘要

This article provides theory and evidence on the spatial determinants of regional patient flows. We develop a theoretical model that explains a patient's choice to consult a general practitioner by a measure of spatial accessibility. We empirically test this gravity-type model using regional patient flows and detailed data on the spatial distribution of residents and physicians in Austria. Our measure of spatial accessibility is a crucial determinant of patient flows that substantially increases the explanatory power of regular gravity models. Counterfactual simulations show heterogeneous effects of exiting physicians on health-care accessibility and patient mobility.