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Maria Cristina Majo

Date of PhD defense: 21 December 2010
Title of thesis: A Microeconometric Analysis of Health Care Utilization in Europe
ISBN: 978 90 5668 276 7
Promotor: Prof.dr. Arthur van Soest

Abstract:
By analyzing the relationship between socio-economic status, health, and health care use for a variety of developed countries (with a main focus on Europe), this thesis attempts to address several questions:

  • What are the socio-economic factors driving the use of health care services: income, wealth and/or education?
  • Does the relationship between socio-economic factors and health care use vary with different types of health care services, such as primary care, specialist care, or in- and outpatient care in a hospital?
  • How is preventive clinical service utilization related to socio-economic status in the population aged 50 and over?
  • Are there different socio-economic factors driving the use of preventive care services than those driving usual care?
  • How should the empirical analysis be modified when dealing with count data with excess zeros?

    • The data that are used in the thesis are micro-level data, which provide crucial information for the evaluation of health systems, including harmonized information on a variety of dimensions such as health, health care use, and socio-economic conditions at the individual level.

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