Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a fact-finding study on how differences in the supply of medical care affect the cause-specific mortality among children aged 1 to 4 years in Japan. We find that the supply of emergency medical care in hospitals has a significant negative effect on the mortality. Furthermore, the availability of primary emergency care at hospitals on weekend nights has a significant negative effect on the mortality owing to either external or internal causes. Finally, the availability of physicians has a more pronounced effect on mortality from external causes than from internal causes
