Mit den letzten beiden Gesundheitsreformen (GKV-WSG, GKVOrg-WG) sind die Spielräume für mehr Wettbewerb im Gesundheitswesen erheblich erweitert worden. Krankenversicherungen können nun selektive Verträge mit Leistungsanbietern und Rabattverträge mit Pharmaunternehmen schließen. Außerdem können Kassen Versicherten Wahltarife anbieten. Im Beitrag werden die Beschränkungen hinsichtlich der Anwendung der ...
Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we investigated the role of childbearing history in later life health and mortality, paying particular attention to possible differences by sex and region. Higher parity is associated with better self-rated health in Western German mothers and fathers aged 50+, but its relationship with Eastern German women's physical health and survival is negative. ...
The study analyses the effects of transition on the amount and patterns of alcohol consumption. We test the hypothesis of how far negative experiences induced by the collapse of the Soviet Union have led to drinking in the young generation of Ukrainians. We use data coming from the Ukrainian Longitude Monitoring Survey (ULMS) to identify both determinants and patterns of alcohol consumption among young ...
While there is little doubt that the probability of poor health increases with age, and that less healthy people face a more difficult situation on the labor market, the precise relationship between facing the risks of health deterioration and labor market instability is not well understood. Using 12 years of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel we study the nature of the relationship between ...
This paper provides insight on the relationship between obesity and happiness. Using the latest available cross sectional data from Germany (GSOEP 2006), UK (BHPS 2005), and Australia (HILDA 2007). We examine whether there is evidence on the impact of overweight on subjective well being. The Hausman test is employed in the univariate and multivariate specifications chosen and reveals evidence for the ...
Does happiness vary with age? The evidence is inconclusive. Some studies show happiness to increase with age (Diener et al. 1999; Argyle 2001). Others hold that the association is U-shaped with either highest depression rates (Mroczek and Christian, 1998; Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008) or highest happiness levels occurring during middle age (Easterlin, 2006). Current studies suffer from two shortcomings. ...
The latest health care reforms in Germany increased the scope for competition in Germany's compulsory health care system. Health insurances can now negotiate bilaterally contracts with service providers as well as so-called rebate contracts with pharmaceutical firms. In addition, health insurances can offer a greater variety of contractual options (returns and allowances) to their customers. In this ...
Using data from the 1994-1996 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), this prospective longitudinal study investigates the association between job displacement and subsequent self-assessed health (SAH). The sample consists of 253 displaced workers and a comparison group of 6,934 continuously-employed workers. Controlling for baseline SAH and standard demographic characteristics, we find no ...