Multivariate Cointegration Technique Estimation of Health Demand Function: The Case of Croatia

In this paper multivariate Johansen cointegration technique is used in order to estimate health demand function in Croatia. Empirical estimate is based on the theoretical foundation of Grossman's model. According to the estimate, the number of physician visits in Croatia is a function of percentage of urban population, GDP, number of beds per 100 000 people, number of physicians per 100 000 people and total fertility rate. All estimated systems demonstrated strong feedbacks indicating number of endogenous variables greater than one.health demand function, health capital, Grossman's model, Croatian health care system, Johansen cointegration technique

Golden Aging: Prospects for Healthy, Active, and Prosperous Aging in Europe and Central Asia

Book revie

The determinants of health among the population aged 50 and over: evidence from Croatia

The aim of this paper is to explore the association between demographic, socio-economic and physical health variables and self-assessed health (SAH) of people aged 50 years and over in Croatia. Cross-sectional data was collected in 2012 in the survey “The Economics of Ageing in Croatiaˮ that was based on the SHARE (Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe) study. Altogether 761 individuals aged 50 and over were included in the working sample that has been used in statistical analysis. Data were analysed in an ordered logistic regression model. The results show that females were more likely to report a higher category of SAH than males. Higher educational level was a statistically significant predictor of higher SAH, when controlled for other variables. This study, unlike other studies in Croatia, introduces a set of physical health variables as the determinants of health. Our results suggest that people aged 50 and over with fewer limitations, health related symptoms and diagnosed chronic conditions were more likely to report higher levels of SAH. These findings could be beneficial to policymakers in their efforts to improve health among elderly in Croatia

PRIVATNI ZDRAVSTVENI SEKTOR U HRVATSKOJ: JESU LI PRIVATNI IZDACI ZA ZDRAVSTVENU ZAŠTITU MIT ILI STVARNOST?

This paper investigates the trends in business activity of the private health care sector in Croatia from 2011 to 2018. Databases of Croatian provider of financial and electronic services - Financial Agency (FINA) - have been employed to explore key performance indicators of private health care sector companies, in particular trends in total employment, business revenues and operating profits. In addition, the most important features of voluntary health insurance (VHI) provided by private health insurance companies and the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) have been presented. Furthermore, this paper provides both a relevant analysis of the private health care sector as well as private spending on health care in Croatia. The results indicate that users of health care services are willing to pay more to gain faster access and higher quality services. In 2018, expenditures for private health care services reached almost HRK 5 billion. Nearly 60% were out-of-pocket (OOP) payments and 40% were paid through the VHI. Despite the persistent recession, the private health care sector in Croatia experienced an average annual growth rate of 10% in the analysed period. More recently, the trend of introduction of more complex services within private providers can be observed indicating the rise in investments, and competitiveness. In conclusion, private health care sector’s presence in Croatia is a reality that should be addressed adequately. Original findings in this paper might serve as starting point for future discussions regarding the private health care sector role in the overall health care system financing. The paper brings a deeper insight into Croatian private health care sector market using original and most recent microdata thus shedding the light on important part of our health economy. Nevertheless, paper has certain limitations that are mainly reflected in relatively narrow set of indicators used in private health care sector business analysis. This though might be addressed properly in future research.U ovom se radu istražuju trendovi u poslovanju privatnoga zdravstvenog sektora u Hrvatskoj od 2011. do 2018. godine. U analizi su korišteni podaci hrvatskog pružatelja financijskih i elektroničkih usluga - Financijske agencije (FINA) - kako bi se istražili ključni pokazatelji poslovanja poduzeća privatnoga sektora zdravstva, a posebice trendovi u zaposlenosti, poslovnim prihodima i operativnom profitu. Uz to, predstavljena su najvažnija obilježja dobrovoljnog zdravstvenog osiguranja (DZO) koje pružaju privatni osiguravatelji i Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje (HZZO). Nadalje, rad pruža relevantnu analizu privatnoga zdravstvenog sektora kao i privatne izdatke za zdravstvenu zaštitu u Hrvatskoj. Analize pokazuju da su korisnici zdravstvenih usluga spremni platiti više kako bi dobili brži pristup i kvalitetnije zdravstvene usluge. U 2018. privatni izdaci za zdravstvenu zaštitu dosegli su gotovo pet milijardi kuna. Skoro 60% tog iznosa odnosi se na tzv. „plaćanja iz džepa“, a 40% na plaćanja DZO-a. Unatoč dugotrajnoj recesiji, privatni zdravstveni sektor u Hrvatskoj zabilježio je prosječnu godišnju stopu rasta od deset posto u razdoblju od 2011. do 2018. U novije vrijeme primjetan je trend uvođenja složenijih usluga kod privatnih pružatelja zdravstvenih usluga što ukazuje na porast ulaganja i konkurentnosti. Zaključuje se da je prisutnost privatnoga zdravstvenog sektora u Hrvatskoj realnost koja bi se trebala adekvatno vrednovati. Osim toga, izvorni nalazi u ovom radu mogli bi poslužiti kao polazna točka za buduće rasprave o ulozi privatnog zdravstvenog sektora u cjelovitom financiranju zdravstvenoga sustava. Rad pruža i dublji uvid u hrvatski privatni zdravstveni sektor koristeći se originalnim i najnovijim mikro podacima koji bacaju svijetlo važan dio naše zdravstvene ekonomije. Ipak, rad ima određena ograničenja koja se u velikoj mjeri odražavaju kroz relativno mali broj pokazatelja koji se koriste u analizi poslovanja privatnoga zdravstvenog sektora. Spomenutim bi se pitanjima trebalo posvetiti u nekim budućim istraživanjima

Prediktori sklonosti ranijem umirovljenju u Hrvatskoj

In this paper, we use the SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) Wave 6 dataset to look into the socio-demographic, health, well-being, financial and work- -related predictors of intended early retirement in Croatia. We estimate logit regression models. Based on our research, early retirement seems to be more appealing to people who work in the private sector, who have poor quality of life, who are less educated, or report poor health status. Amending the pension system in terms of making early retirement a less attractive choice is not enough. Many Croatian employees would be ready to work longer if they had better jobs, education, and health. These are the policy areas where Croatia needs large improvements.U radu se koristimo bazom podataka 6. vala "Istraživanja o zdravlju, starenju i umirovljenju u Europi" (SHARE), kako bismo modelom logističke regresije ispitali prediktore ranijeg odlaska u mirovinu u Hrvatskoj. Pritom uzimamo u obzir sociodemografska, zdravstvena i financijska obilježja zaposlenika, kao i njihovu kvalitetu života te obilježja glavnoga posla. Rezultati našeg istraživanja upućuju na to da su ranijem umirovljenju skloniji zaposlenici koji rade u privatnom sektoru, koji imaju nisku kvalitetu života, slabije su obrazovani ili su subjektivno lošega zdravlja. Promjene mirovinskoga sustava kojima bi ranije umirovljenje bilo manje privlačno nisu dovoljne. Mnogi bi hrvatski zaposlenici bili spremni raditi dulje kad bi imali bolje poslove, obrazovanje i zdravlje. To su područja na kojima su u Hrvatskoj potrebna znatna poboljšanja

Analiza radnog kontingenta i ekonomska aktivnost stanovništva Hrvatske

U ovom radu prikazuju se osnovna demografska kretanja u Hrvatskoj i njihove posljedice na ekonomsku aktivnost stanovništva, te se ukazuje na kritično stanje pojedinih dobnih skupina u usporedbi sa stanjem u EU-25. U svim zemljama prisutno je starenje stanovništva. Analiza ukupnog stanovništva Hrvatske pokazuje kako se udio dobne skupine 0-14 u posljednjih pedeset godina smanjio za 40%, dok se udio dobne skupine 65+ više nego udvostručio. U usporedbi sa starim i novim članicama EU, Hrvatska ima najnižu stopu zaposlenosti izuzevši Poljsku i Bugarsku, a jaz je najizraženiji u osnovnoj dobnoj skupini (25-64 godine) za oba spola. Među odabranom skupinom zemalja Hrvatska je ipak jedina zemlja u kojoj je došlo do blagog porasta ukupne stope aktivnosti u promatranom razdoblju. Uslijed promjene gospodarske strukture, među ostalim i zbog sve većeg udjela sektora usluga, ženska radna snaga postaje sve aktivnija. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju kako je nužno stoga razmišljati o iskorištavanju resursa kojim raspolažemo u Hrvatskoj, tj. o većoj ekonomskoj aktivnosti žena.radni kontingent, zaposlenost, ekonomska aktivnost, EU-25, Hrvatska

How is health associated with employment during later working life in Croatia?

This paper investigates how self-rated health (SRH), as a measure of general health, is associated with employment during later working life in Croatia. Using data from Wave 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we estimate logistic regression models and study whether and to what extent the effects of SRH change with the inclusion of objective health measures. Worse SRH significantly decreases the probability of employment, but this effect becomes insignificant after account is taken of the objective health-related variables. This suggests that in Croatia, SRH and (a combination of) objective health indicators behave as substitutes, and either SRH or objective health measures can be adopted for the study of labour market participation. As worse health lowers the probability of employment during later working life in Croatia, in order to improve the working capacity of older adults, policymakers should strive for more efficient health promotion strategies and public health initiatives

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF POPULATION AGEING PROCESS

Posljednjih nekoliko godina, svjetsko stanovništvo se nastavilo kretati po već ustaljenom putu od stanja visokih stopa nataliteta i mortaliteta do stanja koje karakteriziraju niske stope nataliteta i mortaliteta. Proces starenja stanovništva ima duboke posljedice na ekonomsku, socijalnu i političku sferu društva zbog specifičnih potreba starog stanovništva. Svrha rada svodi se na analizu ekonomskih i socijalnih posljedica procesa starenja stanovništva na socijalni i zdravstveni sustav te izravni utjecaj navedenog procesa na tržište rada. Osnovni cilj rada je utvrditi kako udio starijeg stanovništva utječe na razinu ukupnih izdataka za socijalnu i zdravstvenu skrb. Na temelju rezultata regresijske analize zaključuje se kako povećanje udjela starije populacije (65+) dovodi do povećanja ukupnih izdataka za socijalnu i zdravstvenu skrb u 18 odabranih europskih zemalja.Recent observing suggests that the total world population has continued the transition from the state of high fertility and mortality rates to the state characterized by low fertility and mortality rates. The population ageing process has profound consequences on economic, social and political aspects of society because of specific needs of old persons. The main purpose of this paper is the elaboration of the economic and social consequences of an ageing population and the direct influence of the process on the labour market. The key aim is to explore the influence of old population share on total social and health care expenditures. According to a regression analysis for 18 European countries, an increase in the population aged 65+ share will result in an increase of total social and health care expenditures