Is American Pet Health Care (Also) Uniquely Inefficient?
American Economic Review
vol. 107,
no. 5, May 2017
(pp. 491-95)
Abstract
We document four similarities between American human healthcare and American pet care: (i) rapid growth in spending as a share of GDP over the last two decades; (ii) strong income-spending gradient; (iii) rapid growth in the employment of healthcare providers; and (iv) similar propensity for high spending at the end of life. We speculate about possible implications of these similar patterns in two sectors that share many common features but differ markedly in institutional features, such as the prevalence of insurance and of public sector involvement.Citation
Einav, Liran, Amy Finkelstein, and Atul Gupta. 2017. "Is American Pet Health Care (Also) Uniquely Inefficient?" American Economic Review, 107 (5): 491-95. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171087Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G22 Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
- I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
- I13 Health Insurance, Public and Private
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J44 Professional Labor Markets; Occupational Licensing