Volume 11, Number 4 (Fall) 1976
Holtmann, A. G., and E. Odgers Olsen, Jr. 1976. "The Demand for Dental Care: A Study of Consumption and Household Production." Journal of Human Resources 11(4):546-560.
Within the context of a Becker-type consumer's choice model, this paper reports an empirical study of the demand for dental care for approximately 1,000 households. The unique feature of the study is that waiting time and travel time as well as price and other traditional economic variables are entered into the regression analysis. Generally, the results confirm our expectations derived from theory, but elasticities with respect to all of the above-mentioned determinants of demand were small. In addition, some of the subtle predictions of the theory could not be confirmed.
The authors are, respectively, Professor and Assistant Professor of Economics, State University of New York at Binghamton. We wish to thank Burton Weisbrod, V. Kerry Smith, the editor, and two anonymous referees for their advice and encouragement. Thanks are also due to Steven Gold, Lex Holmes, and Richard Maida for their tireless research assistance. This project was supported by Grant No. R21 HSO 1165 from the National Center for Health Services Research and Development.
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