Jason Shafrin

  Contact information

     Email           jshafrin@ucsd.edu
     Phone          858.366.3867
     Office          Economics Building, Room 125 (map)
     Address      9500 Gilman Dr. #0534, La Jolla, CA 92093-0534

  Primary Research Interest:      Health Economics

•       Resources for Health Economists

Operating on commission: How physician financial incentives affect surgery rates   (Job Market Paper, published in Health Economics)

This paper employs a nationally representative, household-based dataset in order to test how the compensation method of both the specialists and the primary care providers affects surgery rates. After controlling for adverse selection, I find that when specialists are paid through a fee-for-system scheme rather than on a capitation basis, surgery rates increase 78%. The impact of primary care physician compensation on surgery rates depends on whether or not referral restrictions are present.