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The impact of primary care physician density on perinatal health: Evidence from a natural experiment
Author(s) -
Kinge Jonas Minet,
Grytten Jostein
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.4426
Subject(s) - medicine , primary care , family medicine , health care , natural experiment , birth weight , pregnancy , pathology , biology , economics , genetics , economic growth
We examined the impact of primary care physician density on perinatal health outcomes in Norway. From 1992 and onwards, primary care physicians who chose to work in selected remote municipalities were given an annual reduction in their student loan. This reduction, combined with increased supply of physicians, led to an increase in the density of primary care physicians in these selected municipalities. Our register‐based population study showed that this increase in physician density significantly improved perinatal health in terms of fewer fetal deaths and increased birth weight. The richness of the data allowed us to perform several robustness tests.