Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 International integration and the welfare state
- 3 The changing age structure and the public sector
- 4 Emigration from the Scandinavian welfare states
- 5 Productivity and costs in public production of services
- 6 Use of fees in the provision of public services in OECD countries
- 7 Privatisation of social insurance with reference to Sweden
- 8 Occupational welfare
- 9 Pathways to retirement and retirement incentives in Sweden
- 10 Social insurance and redistribution
- 11 Assessing the effect of introducing welfare accounts in Sweden
- 12 Taxation in a global economy
- 13 Taxation and education investment in the tertiary sector
- 14 Debt strategies for Sweden and Europe
- 15 Policy options for reforming the welfare state
- Index
- References
6 - Use of fees in the provision of public services in OECD countries
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 International integration and the welfare state
- 3 The changing age structure and the public sector
- 4 Emigration from the Scandinavian welfare states
- 5 Productivity and costs in public production of services
- 6 Use of fees in the provision of public services in OECD countries
- 7 Privatisation of social insurance with reference to Sweden
- 8 Occupational welfare
- 9 Pathways to retirement and retirement incentives in Sweden
- 10 Social insurance and redistribution
- 11 Assessing the effect of introducing welfare accounts in Sweden
- 12 Taxation in a global economy
- 13 Taxation and education investment in the tertiary sector
- 14 Debt strategies for Sweden and Europe
- 15 Policy options for reforming the welfare state
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Reform of public services is never far from the agenda in any OECD country with debates often focusing on the level of spending that should be done publicly. This has led to different countries varying widely in the degree to which they rely on private spending through charges and insurance for many services.
A first indication of the variation across countries is demonstrated in figure 6.1, which gives the percentage of GDP spent on items such as fees and charges. This varies from negligible amounts in countries such as Turkey, Japan, Belgium and Spain to around 3.7 per cent in Norway and Poland and 5.3 per cent in Switzerland. In fact this figure only tells part of the story since the organisation of the delivery of public services in many countries is arranged in such a way that any private payment is not received by the state, but instead by a private sector institution delivering the service.
This chapter focuses on the methods of funding four services – higher education, health care, long-term care and child care – across OECD countries.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Alternatives for Welfare PolicyCoping with Internationalisation and Demographic Change, pp. 131 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
References
Besley, T., Hall, J. and Preston, I., 1996, Private Health Insurance and the State of the NHS, Commentary no. 52, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
, and 1999, ‘The demand for private health insurance: do waiting lists matter?’, Journal of Public Economics, 72, 155–81CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blau, David, 2000, ‘Child care subsidy programs’, US National Bureau of Economic Research working paper 7806, July
and , 1998, ‘The demand for quality in child care’, Journal of Political Economy, 106, 1, 104–46CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and , 2000a, ‘The returns to higher education in Britain: evidence from a British cohort’, Economic Journal, 110 (February), F82–F99CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and , 2000b, ‘The labour market impact of the Working Families Tax Credit’, Fiscal Studies, 21, 1, 75–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blundell, R., Chiappori, P.-A., Magnac, T. and Meghir, C., 2001, ‘Collective labor supply: heterogeneity and nonparticipation’, IFS working paper W01/19
Blundell, R. and Reed, H., 2000, ‘The employment effects of the Working Families Tax Credit’, IFS briefing note no. 6, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
Bos, E., Vu, M. T., Massiah, E. and Bulatao, R. A., 1994, World Population Projections, 1994–95 Edition: Estimates and Projections with Related Demographic Statistics, Washington, DC: World Bank / Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press
Brewer, M., Myck, M. and Reed, H., 2001, ‘Financial support for families with children: options for the new integrated child credit’, Institute for Fiscal Studies Commentary 82
Brook, L., Hall, J. and Preston, I., 1997, ‘What drives support for higher public spending?’, IFS working paper W97/16
Bryson, C. and New, B., 2001, ‘Health care rationing: a cut too far?’ in R. Jowell, J. Curtice, A. Park, K. Thomson, L. Jarvis, C. Bromley and N. Stratford (eds.), British Social Attitudes: Focusing on Diversity, the 17th report: 2000–01 Edition, London: Sage
and , 1999, ‘Does the UK have a private welfare class?’, Journal of Social Policy, 29, 643–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calnan, M., Cant, S. and Gabe, J., 1996, Going Private: Why People Pay for their Healthcare, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Coleman, M. P., 1999, Cancer Survival Trends in England and Wales 1971–1995: Deprivation and NHS Region, Series SNPS no. 61, London: The Stationery Office
Commonwealth Fund, 1998, Common Concerns: International Issues in Health Care System Reform, New York: Commonwealth Fund
Department of Health, 2000, The NHS Plan: A Plan for Investment, a Plan for Reform, Cm 4818-Ⅰ, London: The Stationery Office
Department of Health 2001, The Government's Expenditure Plans 2001–02 to 2003–04 and Main Estimates 2001–02, London: The Stationery Office
Dilnot, A. and McCrae, J., 1999, ‘Family Credit and the Working Families Tax Credit’, IFS Briefing Note No. 3, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
and , 2001, ‘Funding health care in Europe: recent experiences’, Health Care UK, Spring, 66–77Google Scholar
Dominique, A., Flood, L. and Kocoglu, Y., 2001, ‘Intra-household time allocation in France and Sweden’, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Göteborg University, Sweden: mimeo
and , 1996, ‘Should we subsidise pre-school childcare, and if so, how?’, Fiscal Studies, 17, 3, 39–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, A., Paull, G. and Taylor, J., 2002, Mothers’ Employment and Childcare Use in Britain, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
and , 1980, ‘Taxation, human capital and uncertainty’, American Economic Review, 70, 705–15Google Scholar
Emmerson, C., Frayne, C. and Goodman, A., 2000, Pressures in UK Healthcare: Challenges for the NHS, Commentary No. 81, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
, and 2001, ‘Should private medical insurance be subsidised?’, Health Care UK, Spring, 49–65Google Scholar
Flood, L., Pylkkänen, E. and Wahlberg, R., 2001, ‘Labor supply and welfare participation of single mothers in Sweden’, Göteburg University Working Paper
Fronstin, P. and Wissoker, D., 1995, ‘The effects of the availability of low-cost child care on the labor supply of low income women’, Working Paper, Urban Institute, Washington DC
Gemmell, N., 1997, ‘Externalities to higher education: a review of the new growth literature’, in National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education (Dearing Committee), Higher Education in the Learning Society, Norwich: HMSO
Gregg, Paul, Johnson, Paul and Reed, Howard, 1999, Entering Work and the British Tax and Benefit System, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies
Gregg, Paul and Machin, Stephen, 2001, ‘The relationship between childhood experiences, subsequent educational attainment and labour market performance’ in K. Vlemincx and T. Smeedling (eds.), Child Well Being in Modern Nations: What do we Know?, Bristol: Policy Press
Hall, J. and Preston, I., 1998, ‘Public and private choice in UK health insurance’, IFS working paper W98/19
, 1979, ‘Sample selection bias as a specification error’, Econometrica, 47, 1 (January), 153–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, and , 1999, ‘Human capital formation and general equilibrium treatment effects: a study of tax and tuition policy’, Fiscal Studies, 20, 1, 25–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and , 1994, ‘Housework, wages and the division of housework time for employed spouses’, American Economic Review, 84, 2, Papers and Proceedings of the 106th meeting of the American Economic Association, 120–5Google Scholar
Institute for Public Policy Research, 2001, A New Contract for Retirement: An Interim Report, London: IPPR
Jacobzone, S., Cambois, E., Chaplain, E. and Robine, J. M., 1999, The Health of Older Persons in OECD Countries: Is it Improving Fast Enough to Compensate for Population Ageing?, Labour Market and Social Policy, Occasional Papers no. 37, Paris: OECD
, 1994, ‘College entry by blacks since 1970: the role of college costs, family background, and the returns to education’, Journal of Political Economy, 102, 5, 878–991CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karoly, Lynn, Greenwood, Peter W., Everingham, Susan S., Houbé, Jill, Kilburn, Rebecca, Rydell, Peter, Sanders, Matthew and Chiesa, James, 1998, ‘Investing in our children: what we know and don't know about the costs and benefits of early childhood interventions’, Santa Monica, USA: RAND Report MR-898-TCWF
and , 1990, ‘Public policy and economic growth: developing neoclassical implications’, Journal of Political Economy, 98, 5, S126–S150CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King's Fund, 2001, Paying for Long-term Care, Briefing no. 5, London: The King's Fund
Lakdawalla, D. and Philipson, T., 1999, Aging and the Growth of Long-term Care, National Bureau of Economic Research working paper no. 6980
Minford, P., 1997, ‘The OECD problem of low wages and unemployment: the role of welfare support’, in G. de la Dehesa and D. Snower (eds.), Unemployment Policy: Government Options for the Labour Market, London: CEPR
Morgan, O., 1999, A Cue for Change: Global Comparisons in Healthcare, Social Market Foundation, discussion paper no. 41
, 1997, ‘Citizens’ view on the health care systems in the fifteen member states of the European Union’, Health Economics, 6, 109–163.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, 2001, Unhealthy Charges: CAB Evidence on the Impact of Health Charges. Evidence Report, 3 July
OECD, 1994, The Reform of Health Care Systems: A Review of Seventeen OECD Countries, Paris: OECD
OECD 1998, Maintaining Prosperity in an Ageing Society, Paris: OECD
OECD 2001a, Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators, Paris: OECD
OECD 2001b, Starting Strong: Early Childhood Education and Care, Paris: OECD
Office of Health Economics, 1999, Compendium of Health Statistics, 11th edition, London: OHE
Office for National Statistics, 1998, Informal Carers: Results of an Independent Study Carried Out on Behalf of the Department of Health as Part of the 1995 General Household Survey, London: The Stationery Office Ltd.
Paull, Gillian and Taylor, Jayne, 2002, Mothers’ Employment and Childcare Use in Britain, London: IFS
, and , 2000, ‘Child support reform: some analysis of the 1999 White Paper’, Fiscal Studies, 21, 1, 105–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pencavel, John, 1986, ‘Labor supply of men: a survey’, in O. Ashenfelter and R. Layard (eds.), Handbook of Labor Economics, Vol. Ⅰ, Amsterdam: Elsevier Science B.V.
, 2001, ‘Expenditure on health care in the UK: a review of the issues’, Fiscal Studies, 22, 2, June, 151–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Propper, C. and Green, K., 1999, ‘A larger role for the private sector in health care?: a review of the arguments’, Centre for Market and Public Organisation working paper no. 99/009
, and , 2001, ‘The demand for private insurance in the UK: a cohort analysis’, Economic Journal, 111, C180–C200CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, 1995, ‘A structural model of child care and the labor supply of married women’, Journal of Labor Economics, 13, 3, 558–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Royal Commission on Long-Term Care, 1999, With Respect to Old Age: Long-Term Care – Rights and Responsibilities, Cm 4192-I, March, London: The Stationery Office
Schafheutle, E. I., Hassell, K., Seston, E. M., Nicolson, M. and Noyce, P. R., 2001, Non-dispensing of NHS Prescriptions in Community Pharmacies, 7th Health Services Research and Pharmacy Practice Conference Abstracts, University of Nottingham
Scottish Executive, 1999, Student Finance: Fairness for the Future, Edinburgh: Independent Committee of Enquiry into Student Finance
Temple, J., 2001, ‘Growth effects of education and social capital in the OECD countries’, University of Bristol, mimeo
UK Department for Education and Employment, 1998, Meeting the Childcare Challenge, London: HMSO
UK 2001, Annual Report, London: HMSO
UK Inland Revenue, 2001, Working Families’ Tax Credit Statistics: Quarterly Enquiry, February, London: HMSO
, , et al. 2000, ‘Equity in the delivery of health care in Europe and the US’, Journal of Health Economics, 19, 553–83CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , et al., 1999, ‘Equity in the finance of health care: some further international comparisons’, Journal of Health Economics, 18, 263–90CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, and , 2001, ‘Strategies used by general practitioners to minimise the impact of the prescription charge’, European Journal of General Practice, 7, 23–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 1
- Cited by