查看文章

We derive a discrete choice model of the demand for health care from a theoretical model which implies that if health is a normal good, then the price elasticity of the demand for health care must decline as income rises. We find that demand does become less elastic as income rises in Peru, implying that user fees would reduce the access to care proportionally more for the poor than for the rich. We also find that user fees can generate substantial revenues, but are accompanied by substantial reductions in aggregate consumer welfare, with the burden of the loss on the poor.