David Cantarero

Effects of income inequality on population health: new evidence from the european community household panel

This study provides new evidence in order to explore the relationship between income inequality and health in the European Union countries using new data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). A variety of different specifications were tried using diverse dependent variables such as life expectancy at birth and child mortality. The results show new support to the influence of income inequality on health indicators using aggregate data and panel techniques.

Analysing the impact of fiscal decentralization on health outcomes: empirical evidence from Spain

The aim of this article is to explore the impact of decentralization on health care outcomes in Spain. We develop a model and use it to investigate empirically the hypothesis that shifts towards greater decentralization would be accompanied by improvements in population health in Spain between 1992 and 2003 by using infant mortality and life expectancy as dependent variables. The empirical analysis suggests that income, decentralization and health care resources in Spain did have an important influence on infant mortality and life expectancy.

Adaptación de los servicios de salud a las características específicas y de utilización de los nuevos españoles. Informe SESPAS 2008

Because of the progressive increase in the number of immigrants and the uncertainty about the capacity of the Spanish health service to deal with the quantitative and qualitative increases in demand, the possibility of introducing changes to adapt our services to the new situation should be considered. Beginning with an analysis of the factors that influence health status and use of the health service, based on the National Health Survey (NHS), the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), we compare the health profiles and patterns of medical resources utilization between the national and foreign populations. The pattern of demand for health services in the immigrant population corresponds basically to the needs of a young population in good health. According to NHS data, resource utilization among immigrants can even be lower than that among the national population. Assessing the link between health status and demand for healthcare from a dynamic point of view, by identifying variations in patterns of health and patterns of demand for healthcare, is important to identify imbalances in resources and to establish an appropriate hierarchy of preventive and treatment priorities.

Decentralization and health care expenditure: the Spanish case

This study analyses the evolution of health care expenditure in Spain. A panel data model is used to explain the main factors which affect health care expenditure in the period 1993–1999. The empirical results show that the most important determinant in the explanation of the regional health care expenditure is ageing population while other factors such as income differences and structural characteristics of the supply variables have less importance.

Health care and patients’ migration across Spanish regions

This paper analyses patient mobility across Spanish regions. A model of patient migration is specified and estimated using panel observations covering mobility and other main regional quality indicators over the period 1996–1999. Empirical results show that in Spain income and supply variables determines the quality of the service offered,, and that there is quality-driven mobility.

The Determinants of Health Care Expenditure: A Reexamination

In this article, the determinants of health care expenditure per capita in Spanish regions are analysed. The coexistence of several models concerning the degree of spending power decentralization and financing systems makes Spain a singular case and allows us to draw conclusions relevant for other countries decentralizing their health care systems. Analysing the Spanish case also serves to show a number of pitfalls affecting econometric estimation of the effects of income and demographic structure on health expenditure. Because the reliability of parameter estimates is a key issue in the literature on the determinants of health expenditure, these potential problems should be taken into account when estimating and interpreting results.

Fiscal Decentralization and Economic Growth: Evidence from Spanish Regions

The degree of fiscal decentralization in Spain is similar to main federal countries and greater than unitary ones. The demand of public sector decentralization is based on a supposed efficiency gains that is far from being obvious. Using a data set for the Spanish regions, we reject the null hypothesis of a significant relationship between growth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and expenditure distribution among fiscal administrations. Nonetheless, we find empirical support for a relationship between revenue decentralization, far less advanced than the expenditure one, and growth. In both cases we do reject the null hypothesis of a nonlinear linkage between fiscal decentralization and growth in per capita GDP.

Intergenerational health mobility: an empirical approach based on the ECHP

Despite the importance of the study of health mobility, few attempts have been made to measure intergenerational mobility not only in the European Union but also in other countries such as United States. This article is focused on the study of intergenerational health mobility using data from the European community household panel (ECHP). In particular, the relationships between self-assessed health of parents and their sons are analysed. The evidence obtained suggests that, in Spain, sons’ reported health depends significantly on the self-assessed health of their fathers.

Disentangling the heterogeneous income elasticity and dynamics of health expenditure

In this article, we empirically study the impact of per capita income on health-care expenditure and its dynamics over time in a sample of 14 OECD countries for the period 1971 to 2009. A simple model, built upon one developed by Newhouse (1977), suggests that health care is a necessity in the short run but it cannot be rejected to be a luxury good in the long run. Our findings provide strong empirical evidence that a year’s health expenditure is conditioned by the previous one. Interestingly, our results reveal increasing income inelasticity over time along with huge heterogeneity across countries. Finally, this article supports the hypothesis of conditional convergence in health-care spending among countries. In designing policies which facilitate the sustainability of national health systems, we emphasize that ceteris paribus the greater the participation of public health, the lower the growth rate of health spending. High share of children and elderly over working age population opposite influences. We also provide evidence that technological progress could reduce the long-run income elasticity for health care, which in turn threaten the sustainability of health-care systems.

Gaceta Sanitaria en 2016. Una nueva etapa, fortalecimiento de eGaceta e internacionalización

ria con la conformación de un nuevo equipo editorial, después de 6 años de servicio del equipo liderado por Carme Borrell y Felicitas Domínguez Berjón. El comité editorial se ha constituido tras convocatoria pública, usando las figuras que están representadas en el reglamento de SESPAS, e incluye miembros de fuera de España. El nuevo equipo firmó un acuerdo explicitando el trabajo a desarrollar en cuanto a volumen, puntualidad y calidad del servicio prestado, salvaguardando los aspectos éticos de la publicación científica y representando todas las sensibilidades profesionales que conforman SESPAS. Nuestra propuesta editorial pretende dar respuesta a los nuevos desafíos y aprovechar las oportunidades que ofrece el medio editorial actual, a la vez que continuar el excelente trabajo desarrollado por el equipo anterior1–3. Creemos que las acciones propuestas permitirán la consolidación del liderazgo de la revista en la salud pública y la gestión sanitaria en español, hacer de puerta de entrada de nuevos conceptos y profundizar en temas relevantes para la comunidad científica hispanoparlante. La propuesta fue descrita de manera detallada en un post de nuestro blog4. En ella destacan como líneas más estratégicas el desarrollo de e-Gaceta (presencia en Internet) y la internacionalización de la revista, fundamentalmente a Latinoamérica. Además, disponemos de editores/as invitados/as para desarrollar cinco estrategias: 1) evaluación de tecnologías sanitarias, 2) género, 3) comunicación, 4) e-learning y 5) salud comunitaria. Este editorial pretende dar continuidad a la ya tradicional rendición de cuentas anual dirigida a nuestros lectores/as, revisores/as y autores/as. A continuación, presentaremos brevemente las actividades realizadas durante el año pasado, así como información sobre el desempeño de la revista.