Compared with the broad supply of literature measuring socioeconomic gradients in the distribution of health, only little is know about the life course perspective regarding income related inequalities. This article combines the reowned concentration index approach with semiparametric estimation...

Analyses of out-of-pocket healthcare spending often suffer from an inability to distinguish necessary from optional spending in the data without making further assumptions. We propose a two-dimensional rating of the spending categories often available in household budget survey data where we...

At a time of global crisis and competing priorities, investing in health is among the most impactful and cost-effective decisions governments and stakeholders can make. Beyond being a fundamental right, health is a catalyst for growth, stability and resilience - particularly in uncertain times....

When drugs enter the market, physicians' prescribing behavior plays a crucial role in the diffusion process. Although regulations to foster economically efficient prescribing exist, physicians have some degree of freedom in choosing medication and are subject to various influencing factors. The...

Ambulatory care sensitive hospitalizations are widely considered as important measures of access to as well as quality and performance of primary care. In our study, we investigate the impact of spending, process quality and continuity of care in the ambulatory care sector on ambulatory care...