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The Economics of Artificial Intelligence Health Care Challenges Book Cover

The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: Health Care Challenges

news article

Ajay AgrawalJoshua GansAvi Goldfarb and Catherine Tucker, editors.

In sweeping conversations about the impact of artificial intelligence on many sectors of the economy, health care has received relatively little attention. Yet it seems unlikely that an industry that represents nearly one fifth of the economy could escape the efficiency- and cost-driven disruptions of AI.

The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: Health Care Challenges brings together contributions from health economists, physicians, philosophers, and scholars in law, public health, and machine learning to identify the primary barriers...

A research summary from the monthly NBER Digest

Fund Flows, Returns, and Mutual Fund Managers’ Pay figure

Fund Flows, Returns, and Mutual Fund Managers’ Pay

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Actively managed mutual funds, which pool money from many investors and invest it in stocks, bonds, and other financial assets, are an important part of the US financial system. About half of US households invest part of their savings in mutual funds. Some are actively managed; others follow a passive index–style investing approach. In 2016, mutual and pension funds held around 44 percent of the US equity market. Managers of actively managed funds make frequent trading and investment decisions that have important ramifications for the savings or pensions of invested households.

Despite the scale and importance of these funds’ activities, the incentives facing fund managers are poorly understood, mainly due to a lack of data on managers’ compensation. Designers of compensation structures for fund managers face…

From the NBER Bulletin on Health

How Informative Are Risk-Adjusted Hospital Quality Measures? Figure

How Informative Are Risk-Adjusted Hospital Quality Measures?

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Hospital quality indicators are intended to provide public information about differences in the quality of care across hospitals. The measures — such as 30-day mortality rates and 30-day hospitalization costs for admitted patients — are adjusted for the characteristics of each hospital’s patient population. In principle, these risk-adjusted indicators are not affected if a hospital treats especially unhealthy patients. If the risk adjustment is inadequate, however, the quality measures could confound patient health status with hospital quality. 

In Are Hospital Quality Indicators Causal? (NBER Working Paper 31789), Amitabh Chandra, Maurice Dalton, and Douglas O. Staiger assess risk-adjusted hospital quality measures. Specifically, they ask how well these measures predict changes...

From the NBER Reporter: Research, program, and conference summaries

Starc_Figure1_Final

Generic Drugs: A Healthcare Market Trial

article

Can healthcare markets deliver access, affordability, and quality? While markets for hospital and physician services both have unique challenges, generic drug pricing is often seen as a success story for market forces. After patent-related exclusivity ends, prices fall dramatically. Consumers have access to a range of highly clinically valuable products at low prices. Is this success unique or can it be replicated in other parts of the healthcare sector?

As in other healthcare markets, insurers play a crucial role in determining both prices and utilization of prescription drugs. Patients purchase pharmaceuticals from a pharmacy, either in a physical location or by mail. Like many retailers of consumer goods, pharmaceutical retailers purchase products from wholesalers and manufacturers. A unique feature in the financing of…

From the NBER Bulletin on Retirement and Disability

Social Security and Retirement around the World

Social Security and Retirement around the World

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Over the past 25 years, labor force participation at older ages has increased dramatically. In the 12 countries that are part of the NBER’s International Social Security (ISS) project, participation among those aged 60 to 64 has risen by an average of over 20 percentage points for men and over 25 percentage points for women.

In The Effects of Reforms on Retirement Behavior: Introduction and Summary (NBER Working Paper 31979), authors Axel Börsch-Supan and Courtney Coile report on the most recent work of the ISS project. The current analysis builds on previous project phases which showed that changes in health and education could…

From the NBER Bulletin on Entrepreneurship

C-Suite Differences: Public versus Privately Held Firms figure

C-Suite Differences: Public versus Privately Held Firms

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Private equity (PE) firms’ business model is to acquire privately held companies, to change their strategy and operations with the goal of improving profitability and growth, and ultimately to sell the companies for a profit. The senior management team is replaced at a majority of private equity acquisitions. More than 40 percent of PE firms report that this is a key way to improve their acquisitions’ success.

In The Market for CEOs: Evidence from Private Equity (NBER Working Paper 30899), Paul Gompers, Steven Kaplan, and Vladimir Mukharlyamov compare the characteristics of CEOs installed by PE firms to the characteristics of those who become...

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NBER researchers discuss their work on subjects of wide interest to economists, policymakers, and the general public. Recordings of more-detailed presentations, keynote addresses, and panel discussions at NBER conferences are available on the Lectures page.

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An investigation of the role of anonymity in online communication and social media posting.    ...
Research Spotlight
In recognition of Black History Month, Research Associate Conrad Miller of the University of California, Berkeley,...
Research Spotlight
In recognition of Black History Month, Research Associate Trevon Logan of The Ohio State University, who directs the...
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A growing fraction of US medical care is delivered through integrated healthcare systems that include many medical...
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