The economic crises of the 1970s marked the end of the 'Golden Age' of the welfare state and triggered a broad range of cost containment measures in OECD countries. In the healthcare sector the difficulties of cutting back state involvement are largely caused by the fact that the legitimacy of...

"This book provides a framework to understand why there are waiting lists for elective surgery in some OECD countries and not in others. It also describes how waiting times are measured in OECD countries and reviews different policy approaches to tackling excessive waiting times." --Publisher...

How can we measure the performance of different health systems, and how can we use such information to support on-going health systems improvement? Those are the central questions addressed in this volume. Health policy makers have a growing interest in finding ways of encouraging health systems...

Over the past decade, many OECD countries have introduced new policies to tackle excessive waiting times for elective surgery with some success. However, in the wake of the recent economic downturn and severe pressures on public budgets, waiting times times may rise again, and it is important to...

People in OECD countries are healthier than ever before, as shown by longer life expectancy and lower mortality for diseases such as cancer. At the same time, total spending on health care now absorbs over 9% of GDP on average in the OECD. Achieving value for money in the health care sector is...