Health Care Management Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
12-2013
Publication Source
American Economic Review
Volume
103
Issue
7
Start Page
2875
Last Page
2910
DOI
10.1257/aer.103.7.2875
Abstract
If profit maximization is the objective of a firm, new information about quality should affect firm behavior only through its effects on market demand. I consider an alternate model in which suppliers are motivated by a desire to perform well in addition to profit. The introduction of quality "report cards" for cardiac surgery in Pennsylvania provides an empirical setting to isolate the relative role of extrinsic and intrinsic incentives in determining surgeon response. Information on performance that was new to surgeons and unrelated to patient demand led to an intrinsic response four times larger than surgeon response to profit incentives.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Copyright © 2016 AEA
Recommended Citation
Kolstad, J. T. (2013). Information and Quality When Motivation Is Intrinsic: Evidence From Surgeon Report Cards. American Economic Review, 103 (7), 2875-2910. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.7.2875
Included in
Health Services Research Commons, Medical Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Other Medicine and Health Sciences Commons
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.