Health care efficiency and determinants—A comparison of Taiwan and OECD countries

Abstract

This article analyzes health care efficiency and determinants in OECD countries and Taiwan, using World Health Organization (WHO) and Taiwanese health data. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) found that Taiwan's health care efficiency was higher than most OECD countries. Taiwan's health care system seems to have relatively less expenditure on health care, and yes has relatively longer life expectancy and lower infant mortality. Specifically, we found that gross national income (GDP) is negatively associated with health care efficiency, but there is no obvious link between health care efficiency and an aging population.

Keywords:

• Health care efficiency
• Data envelopment analysis
• Malmquist productivity index
• Tobit Regression