Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Osea Giuntella
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Oxford, IZA
Author-Email: osea.giuntella@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.
Author-Name: Catia Nicodemo
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Oxford, CHSEO, IZA
Author-Email: catia.nicodemo@economics.ox.ac.uk
Author-Name: Carlos Vargas Silva
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Oxford, COMPAS
Author-Email: carlos.vargas-silva@compas.ox.ac.uk.
Title: The Effects of Immigration on NHS Waiting Times
Abstract: This paper analyzes the effects of immigration on access to health care in England. Linking
administrative records from the Hospital Episode Statistics (2003-2012) with immigration data
drawn from the UK Labor Force Survey, we analyze how immigrant inflows affected waiting
times in the National Health Service. We find that immigration reduced waiting times for
outpatient referrals and did not have significant effects on waiting times in Accident and
Emergency (A&E) and elective care. However, there is evidence that immigration increased
waiting times for outpatient referrals in more deprived areas outside London. These effects
are concentrated in the years immediately following the 2004 EU enlargement and vanish in
the medium-run (e.g., 3 to 4 years). Our findings suggest that these regional disparities are
explained by both differences in the health status of immigrants moving into different local
authorities and in natives’ internal mobility across local authorities.
Classification-JEL: I10, J61
Keywords: Immigration, waiting times, access to health care, welfare
Length: 37 pages
Creation-Date: 2015-05-06
Number: 2015-W04
File-URL: http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/economics/papers/2015/giunt_nic_silva2015.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:nuf:econwp:1504