Healthcare and Welfare Policy Efficiency in 34 Developing Countries in Asia

Abstract

The healthcare and welfare policies of nations, as well as the amount of investments put into these areas, vary across countries. Investments in healthcare and welfare have been increasing worldwide which brings the question of assessing the efficiency of these investments. There are, however, difficulties in evaluating the effectiveness of such investments due to differences in countries’ economic development levels and due to the differences in data definition issues. There are only a limited number of studies in the literature that employ consistent and comparable indicators across countries. This study evaluates the healthcare investment efficiency and health competitiveness efficiency of 34 developing countries in Asia using a two-stage dynamic data envelopment analysis approach. Furthermore, we employ a broader measure of indicators on national healthcare and welfare policies and outcomes, in addition to the investment data on healthcare and welfare expenditures. Our findings indicate that the establishment of an investment environment with a consolidated approach and management is an important factor that increases the efficiency of investments in healthcare and welfare sectors. A consistent delivery of the national policy strategy is also crucial for reaching the medium-and long-term targets for each country. For example, if a country establishes healthcare and welfare policies that focus on improving its indicators with low efficiencies, the output will be improved and a better return on investment will be ensured in a long-term perspective.

Analysing the Efficiency of Health Systems: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…Sixty percent of all the retrieved publications examined efficiency at the national/country level. These included studies that examined a single country health system or several country health systems such as OECD countries [ 21 ], World Health Organization member states [ 22 ], Eastern European countries [ 23 ], Asian countries [ 24 , 25 ], Latin America and Caribbean countries [ 26 ] and Sub Saharan Africa [ 27 ]. Forty percent of the publications examined efficiency at sub national levels such as: (1) provinces in China [ 28 , 29 ] and South Africa [ 30 ]; regions in Saudi Arabia [ 31 ] and Switzerland [ 32 ]; municipalities in Brazil [ 33 ] and Finland [ 34 ]; and districts in India [ 35 ], Zambia [ 36 ] and Mozambique [ 37 ].…”

Measuring Efficiency and Effectiveness in Public Health Management: Methodologies and Applications

“…Researchers used CEA to compare [21] the prices and health benefits of immunizing children against different diseases as part of a study that looked at how cost-effective a youth vaccine program was. The study gave lawmakers proof to back up their choices to spend in vaccine programs by calculating the costs per life saved or disability-adjusted life year (DALY) avoided.…”

Analysing the Efficiency of National and Sub-national health systems - A Systematic Review of Literature

“…60% of all the retrieved publications examined e ciency at the national/country level. These included studies that examined a single country health system or several country health systems such as OECD countries [21], World Health Organization member states [22], Eastern European countries [23], Asian countries [24,25], Latin America and Caribbean countries [26] and Sub Saharan Africa [27]. 40% of the publications examined e ciency at sub national levels such as:-1) provinces in China [28, 29], South Africa [30]; regions in Saudi Arabia [31] and Switzerland [32]; municipalities in Brazil [33] and Finland [34]; and districts in India [35], Zambia [36] and Mozambique [37].…”