Advances in Management and Applied Economics

Perceived quality and formation of inter-regional networks of health care migration

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  • Abstract

    In the paper we test the hypothesis if the perceived quality of the hospital services (medical, assistance and hygienic) can be considered a drive factor of the interregional health migration in the sense that it influence the predicted probability of a ties formation between two regional healthcare systems. At this end several exponential random graph model are estimated introducing the perceived quality as a node-level characteristic. The analysis show that the perceived quality factor in the hospitals services is statistically significant and positively related to the probability to observe ties between two Regions. That homophily effect do not exist between Regions with the same regional healthcare system but the effect appear at level of geographical area. Finally the access factor do not influence this predicted probability, on the contrary, in some case the estimated parameter of the access factor is negatively related to it. Yet, the estimated parameter of the equipment factor is statistically significant and positively related to the predicted probability to observe ties between two Regions in four type of networks on five considered. So, we can conclude that the perceived quality factor in the hospital services is not the only drive factor for the travel for health motivation between two Regions, but also the technological level have a role, meanwhile the access is often negatively related at the predict probability to observe a tie.

    JEL classification numbers: H75,I30,C15,D71
    Keywords: health migration, aggregate choices, network formation, perceived quality.