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Corresponding Author:
Nadeem A. Burney, Techno-Economic Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research

Coauthors:
Mohammad Alenezi, Techno-Economics Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
Salwa Hamada, Techno-Economics Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
Nadia Al-Musallam, Techno-Economics Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research

The Demand for Public and Private Medical Care Services: Evidence from Kuwait

Volume 72 - Issue 1, February 2019
(pp. 107-138)
JEL classification: I10
Keywords: Medical Care Services, Utilization, Demand, Two-Part Model (TPM), Kuwait

Abstract

The growing demand for medical care services (MCS) presents a major policy challenge for health authorities, particularly in the developing countries, as they attempt to manage resources for the health care delivery system. While the empirical literature on the subject has covered both the developed and the developing countries, one region that has been neglected or underrepresented is the oil exporting countries of the Middle East, a region that is different from other countries in terms of its socio-economic-demographic characteristics. This paper investigates determinants of demand for MCS in Kuwait by estimating a two-part model for out-patient services based on data from a household survey on the utilization of health care facilities (HCF) in the country. As the data on the utilization of HCF are known to be afflicted by restricted range, zero values, and skewness, prior to estimating the model, tests were conducted to determine presence of over-dispersion in the data and select an appropriate distribution of the dependent variable for the second part of the model. In addition, test was performed to determine if differences in the estimated coefficients across population groups were statistically significant. The findings of the study are expected to help authorities in Kuwait as well as other oil-exporting economies that share socio-economic and demographic characteristics and experience similar trends in the demand for MCS in formulating policies for the development of health care delivery system.

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Institute for International Economics of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce

Institute for International Economics
of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce