Patient Choice Reform and Wage Effects in Swedish Primary Care: Evidence on nurse wages from a competition-based reform
(2006) NEKN01 20261Department of Economics
- Abstract
- This study examines the effect of the patient choice reform on nurse wages in Swedish primary care centres. Using Swedish register data and a difference-in-differences framework adapted to staggered treatment adoption, the analysis estimates whether the reform increased wages for nurses employed in municipalities with entry potential and who were already employed in primary care prior to the reform. Influenced by principles associated with New Public Management, the reform lowered barriers to entry and facilitated the establishment of private primary care providers. The treatment indicator is defined as the interaction between the reform implementation and a measure of local market potential, reflecting that provider entry and increased... (More)
- This study examines the effect of the patient choice reform on nurse wages in Swedish primary care centres. Using Swedish register data and a difference-in-differences framework adapted to staggered treatment adoption, the analysis estimates whether the reform increased wages for nurses employed in municipalities with entry potential and who were already employed in primary care prior to the reform. Influenced by principles associated with New Public Management, the reform lowered barriers to entry and facilitated the establishment of private primary care providers. The treatment indicator is defined as the interaction between the reform implementation and a measure of local market potential, reflecting that provider entry and increased competition were more likely to occur in markets with sufficient capacity for establishment. The study contributes to the limited literature examining how market-oriented reforms affect labour markets dynamics and wage formation within publicly financed health care systems. Drawing on a monopsonistic labour market framework, the results indicate that the reform increased nurse wages on average, although the magnitude and statistical significance vary across treatment cohorts. Estimated wage effects range from modest to economically meaningful depending on regional market conditions. The findings are robust across alternative specifications and support the view that increased employer competition may strengthen nurses bargaining positions within health care labour markets. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9231329
- author
- Nelsson, Anna LU and Bergman, Johanna
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NEKN01 20261
- year
- 2006
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Patient choice reform, Monopsony, Wages, Employer competition, Nurses' labour market
- language
- English
- id
- 9231329
- date added to LUP
- 2026-10-12 11:03:05
- date last changed
- 2026-10-12 11:03:05
@misc{9231329,
abstract = {{This study examines the effect of the patient choice reform on nurse wages in Swedish primary care centres. Using Swedish register data and a difference-in-differences framework adapted to staggered treatment adoption, the analysis estimates whether the reform increased wages for nurses employed in municipalities with entry potential and who were already employed in primary care prior to the reform. Influenced by principles associated with New Public Management, the reform lowered barriers to entry and facilitated the establishment of private primary care providers. The treatment indicator is defined as the interaction between the reform implementation and a measure of local market potential, reflecting that provider entry and increased competition were more likely to occur in markets with sufficient capacity for establishment. The study contributes to the limited literature examining how market-oriented reforms affect labour markets dynamics and wage formation within publicly financed health care systems. Drawing on a monopsonistic labour market framework, the results indicate that the reform increased nurse wages on average, although the magnitude and statistical significance vary across treatment cohorts. Estimated wage effects range from modest to economically meaningful depending on regional market conditions. The findings are robust across alternative specifications and support the view that increased employer competition may strengthen nurses bargaining positions within health care labour markets.}},
author = {{Nelsson, Anna and Bergman, Johanna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Patient Choice Reform and Wage Effects in Swedish Primary Care: Evidence on nurse wages from a competition-based reform}},
year = {{2006}},
}