Neighbourhood and the Perception of the Quality of Medical Treatment

Abstract

Numerous studies have explored the role of the economic characteristics of a neighbourhood on the health status of its residents. We contribute to this work by examining the effects of the change in concentration of affluence on the perception of the quality of medical treatment received by the poor. We consider different neighbourhoods characterised by their level of prosperity. Based on the Asset Index, a particular primary sampling unit is identified as poor, middle or rich neighbourhoods to capture regional differences in the level of poverty. In each of these regions, we measure how the percentage of poor who claim that they were treated nicely varies with the change in the percentage of rich. The results reveal that, after a point, the probability of the perception of receiving superior treatment initially increases with an increase in the percentage of rich people and then starts declining. The principal component analysis is used to create weights in the asset index. The estimation is based on the nationally representative India Human Development Survey-2 (IHDS-2) household data collected in 2011–2012. We employ an ordered logit model for the analysis, as the perception of the quality of treatment, the dependent variable, is ordered in nature. Furthermore, we use Heckman’s two-step correction method to control for the plausibility of ‘self-selection’.

JEL: I14, I39