Spatial competition and quality: evidence from the English family doctor market
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Gravelle, Hugh
Liu, Dan
Propper, Carol
Santos, Rita
Type
Report
Abstract
We examine whether family doctor firms in England respond to local competition by increasing their quality. We measure quality in terms of clinical performance and patient-reported satisfaction to capture its multi-dimensional nature. We use a panel covering 8 years for over 8000 English general practices, allowing us to control for unobserved local area effects. We measure competition by the number of rival doctors within a small distance. We find that increases in local competition are associated with increases in clinical quality and patient satisfaction, particularly for firms with lower quality. However, the magnitude of the effect is small.
Date Issued
2018-02
Citation
CHE Research papers, 2018
Publisher
University of York
Journal / Book Title
CHE Research papers
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Hugh Gravelle, Dan Liu, Carol Propper, Rita Santos. Only the latest electronic copy of our reports should be cited.
Copies of this paper are freely available to download from the CHE website www.york.ac.uk/che/publications/. Access to
downloaded material is provided on the understanding that it is intended for personal use. Copies of downloaded papers may be distributed to third-parties subject to the proviso that
the CHE publication source is properly acknowledged and that such distribution is not subject to any payment.
Copies of this paper are freely available to download from the CHE website www.york.ac.uk/che/publications/. Access to
downloaded material is provided on the understanding that it is intended for personal use. Copies of downloaded papers may be distributed to third-parties subject to the proviso that
the CHE publication source is properly acknowledged and that such distribution is not subject to any payment.
Identifier
https://www.york.ac.uk/che/publications/in-house/
Subjects
Quality; healthcare; choice; competition; family physicians
Notes
Source info: CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP12917
Article Number
151