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Cost Efficiency of Tunisian Public Hospitals: a Bayesian Comparison of Random and Fixed Frontier Models

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Abstract

This paper analyses the cost efficiency of the Tunisian public hospitals over the period 2000–2007, using a Bayesian frontier model (random and fixed models). Unlike the traditional stochastic frontier models, this model allows to separate the cost efficiency estimates from the technological difference (i.e., heterogeneity) within the hospitals and the inclusion of “prior” information about the parameters in inference. Results indicate that the random frontier was a better fit to the data, therefore providing further evidence that the Tunisian public hospitals operate in different environmental and technological characteristics. Policy implications of the results are derived.

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Correspondence to Sami Chaabouni.

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Chaabouni, S., Abednnadher, C. Cost Efficiency of Tunisian Public Hospitals: a Bayesian Comparison of Random and Fixed Frontier Models. J Knowl Econ 7, 771–781 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-015-0245-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-015-0245-8

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