Which of the following options explain why might Miami and La Crosse have different health production functions?     Different input costs     Different hospital amenities     Different medical malpractice environments     All of the above

Suppose that Hubert, an economist from an AM talk radio program, and Kate, an economist from a school of industrial relations, are arguing over health insurance. The following dialogue shows an excerpt from their debate: Kate: A popular topic for debate among politicians as well as economists is the idea of providing government assistance for health benefits. Hubert: I think it is oppressive for the government to tax people who take care of themselves in order to pay for health insurance for those who are obese. Kate: I disagree. I think government funding of health insurance is useful to ensure basic fairness.   The disagreement between these economists is most likely due to (DIFFERENCE IN SCIENTIFIC JUDGEMENT, DIFFERENCE IN VALUES, DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERCEPTION VERSUS REALITY)   .   Despite their differences, with which proposition are two economists chosen at random most likely to agree? A. Employers should not be restricted from outsourcing work to foreign nations.…

Demand for medical services is price inelastic (Absolute value of price elasticity of demand is less than 1 and greater than zero). Medical services are different from most other goods and services in that the person who determines the demand (the patient) is not the person who makes the payment (payment is made by the insurance company). How does this affect the price elasticity of demand for medical services (increase it or decrease it)? You may assume that this question only refers to people who have health insurance. Ignore co-payments and deductibles and any other out-of-pocket expenses. Please give an explanation.

Ronald Coase in his classic October 1960 article “The Problem of Social Cost” (Journal of Law and Economics 3[1], pp.1-4) discussed collective ownership of resources.  Collective ownership often means that no one takes care of resources, or at minimum that resources are not cared for as well as if they were privately owned.  What are some of problems with collective ownership in the health care industry? Can you think of some examples in which collective ownership works?  In what situations does it not work?

The Australian health sector suffers from informational asymmetry problems pertaining to ‘moral hazard’ and ‘adverse selection’. Please provide a reason for why you either agree or disagree with the statement.

If the demand curve is steeper for particular health services the moral hazard is less ? True or false  Explain briefly.

Some economists have suggested that the best way to control medical costs is to remove the profit incentive for health care providers, particularly hospitals. This would involve making all hospitals not-for-profit institutions. Use the utility maximization model to explain the likely impact such a policy would have on the cost of producing hospital services. What would happen if instead a policy was instituted that reduced barriers to entry in the hospital sector and therefore made the market more competitive?