DSpace Repository

Income redistribution and the political economy of social health insurance : comparing Germany and Switzerland

Show simple item record

dc.creator Breyer, Friedrich
dc.date 2001
dc.date.accessioned 2013-10-16T06:59:01Z
dc.date.available 2013-10-16T06:59:01Z
dc.date.issued 2013-10-16
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10419/18237
dc.identifier ppn:332479447
dc.identifier.uri http://koha.mediu.edu.my:8181/xmlui/handle/10419/18237
dc.description In many countries, collectively financed health insurance systems or health services delivery systems (such as the NHS) exist. Typically, these institutions are financed via general taxes or specific contributions levied on earnings. As benefits are not dependent upon income, this implies a redistribution from high to low earners. An exception can be found in Switzerland, where equal per-capita contributions are used. From a public-choice perspective it is natural to ask whether the combination of health insurance and income redistribution leads to an expansion or a contraction of the size of a public health care system, a question that is particularly relevant in view of the projected rapid increase of health care costs in the next decades due to population ageing and medical progress. Building upon the work of Gouveia (1997) and an earlier paper by the author (Breyer 1995) I use a simple model of direct democracy to analyze under what circumstances income redistribution tends to expand the size of a public health insurance system. The predictions of the model are confronted with existing evidence from Germany and Switzerland and are used to develop hypotheses on the future development of the systems.
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) Berlin
dc.relation DIW-Diskussionspapiere 253
dc.rights http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen
dc.subject H42
dc.subject H51
dc.subject ddc:330
dc.subject Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung
dc.subject Einkommensumverteilung
dc.subject Gesundheitsfinanzierung
dc.subject Gesundheitskosten
dc.subject Abstimmungsregel
dc.subject Ökonomische Theorie der Demokratie
dc.subject Theorie
dc.subject Deutschland
dc.title Income redistribution and the political economy of social health insurance : comparing Germany and Switzerland
dc.type doc-type:workingPaper


Files in this item

Files Size Format View

There are no files associated with this item.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search DSpace


Advanced Search

Browse

My Account