The Great Equalizer: Health Care Access and Infant Mortality in Thailand
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Gruber_The great.pdf
Size
620.54 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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Author(s)
Gruber, Jonathan
Hendren, Nathaniel
Townsend, Robert
Date Issued
January 2014
Journal
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Gruber, Jonathan, Nathaniel Hendren, and Robert M. Townsend. “ The Great Equalizer: Health Care Access and Infant Mortality in Thailand.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 6, no. 1 (January 2014): 91–107.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
This paper analyzes Thailand's 2001 healthcare reform, "30 Baht." The program increased funding available to hospitals to care for the poor and reduced copays to 30 Baht (~$0.75). Our estimates suggest the supply-side funding of the program increased healthcare utilization, especially among the poor. Moreover, we find significant impacts on infant mortality. Prior to 30 Baht, poorer provinces had significantly higher infant mortality rates than richer provinces. After 30 Baht, this correlation evaporates to zero. The results suggest that increased access to healthcare among the poor can significantly reduce their infant mortality rates.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/app.6.1.91
