This paper performs an empirical test of the effect of hospital market structure on health quality. In contrast with most literature that studies this relationship, this research recognizes that quality indexes based on mortality rates makes market structure endogenously determined. If a hospital’s entry decision is based on the actual market’s health quality, the estimated effect of competitio...

So-called “horizontal mergers” of firms whose products are direct substitutes at the point of sale have garnered significant attention from researchers and regulators alike. We consider the effect of mergers between firms whose products are not viewed as direct substitutes for the same good or service, but are bundled by a common intermediary. Focusing on the case of hospital mergers across dis...

Market definition is common in merger analysis, and often the decisive factor in antitrust cases. This has been particularly relevant in the hospital industry, where many merger challenges have been denied due to disagreements over geographic market definition. We compare geographic markets produced using frequently employed ad hoc methodologies to structural methods that directly apply the “SS...

This regular feature of the journal includes a discussion of recent trends in health care spending, employment, and prices. The statistics presented in this article are valuable in their own right and for understanding the relationship between the health care sector and the overall economy. In addition, they allow us to anticipate the direction and magnitude of health care cost changes prior to...

The long-standing argument that focused operations outperform others stands in contrast to theory and evidence supporting a broader scope for organizations. The literature on related diversification at the level of the firm provides some reconciliation of these conflicting observations by suggesting that multi-unit firms with a portfolio of related businesses outperform both single-unit firms a...

This feature presents highlights from statistics on health care utilization, prices, expenses, employment, and work hours, as well as on national economic activity, with brief analysis of these economic indicators. These statistics provide an early indication of changes occurring in the health care sector and within the general economy. Although most data are for the first quarter of 1999, Amer...

OBJECTIVE To describe trends in the proportion of US hospitals that distribute industry-sponsored formula sample packs between 2007 and 2010. METHODS This is a follow-up of a 2007 study. In 2007, we surveyed all 50 US states to determine the proportion of hospitals that distributed infant formula samples to new mothers. In 2010, we selected the 10 best-record and 10 worst-record states with r...

Because of the unreasonable and unnecessary weight restriction assumption, a barely noticeable deficiency in pseudo-inefficiency occurs at times when applying a CCR model. The CCR was the first model designed for Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); it remains its most popular model. To detect this type of unobvious deficiency, this study compared the following: the efficiency score and optimal wei...

Background and Objectives: Hospital management and its manner of governance influence different aspects of hospital performance. In Sudan; there we face scarcity of research about hospital management. The objective of this study was assessment of managerial practices of selected Teaching Hospital in order to improve the strategies of providing services and teaching. Me...