The willingness to pay for medical care : evidence from two developing countries /

This volume attempts to describe econometrically the effects of asking poor people in Third World economies to pay for a portion of their medical care. This is an important issue since most health programs in the developing world are state financed with low likelihoods of success. The main analytical questions, then, are those that ask about the price elasticity of demand for medical care and whether user fees contribute to program efficiency. The authors exhibit extensive experience in modeling consumer behavior in the developing world. Their conclusions are that user fees of even one half the marginal cost of medical care will ration most of the poor out of the market altogether, and that such negative effects will be disproportionately felt by children. The policy recommendations are obvious: that a great deal of state support for health care is appropriate but that, incrementally, user fees could be charged as incomes rise. This study is meant to be digested by the econometrically literate reader at graduate student or faculty level. -M. G. Ellis, New Mexico State University