A Study on the Size of Hierarchical Medical Service Area Considering the Scale of Economies

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K17142
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Public finance/Public economy
• Research Institution: Hyogo University of Health Sciences
• Principal Investigator: NISHIDA kiheiji 兵庫医療大学, 共通教育センター, 講師 (50631652)
• Research Collaborator: MATSUURA Nariaki 大阪大学, 大学院・連合小児発達学研究科, 特任教授 (70190402) ; HAMADA Yoshinosuke 大阪大学, 大学院医学系研究科・医療経済経営学寄付講座, 特任准教授 (10362683) ; KAWAKAMI Tetsu 近畿大学, 経済学部, 教授 (60402674) ; NOGIWA Daisuke 福井工業大学, 環境情報学部, 講師 (90736125) ; YAMADA Eri 名古屋市立大学, 大学院経済学研究科, 講師 (30706742)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 規模の経済性 / 階層的システム / カーネル法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The optimal size of medical service area in comprehensive community care system has been discussed so far. In this study, we assume that the medical service area is a kind of hierarchical system and study the total number of ranks in the system as well as the optimal number of medical facilities in each rank in relation with the economies of scale. We also derive a standard of the optimal size and unit of a medical service area in comprehensive community care system.　In our analysis, we especially take account of spatial competition between providers and make a comparison in locational patterns of providers in the cases of social optimum and competition. We find that the case of competition can yield the locational patterns that could never happen in the case of social optimum.

Free Research Field

統計科学