International Comparison – Healthcare Economist

Why do U.S. physicians make so much money?

2026-03-242026-03-24Jason Shafrin

Let’s look at some data on mean annual physician income in the U.S. compared to other countries: U.S.: $458,100 Canada: $194,700 Netherlands: $185,700 Sweden: $115,200 Why are U.S. physician incomes so much higher than other developed countries? Is it a good idea to try to drive down physician incomes? An NBER working paper by Buehler…

US Ranks Last

2014-06-17Jason Shafrin1 Comment

According to a Commonwealth Fund report examining the health care system of 11 countries, Americans receive the worst health care. The report summarizes the findings as follows: The United States health care system is the most expensive in the world, but comparative analyses consistently show the U.S. underperforms relative to other countries on most dimensions of performance.…

Aviodable Mortality in 3 world cities: London vs. New York vs. Paris

2008-06-13Jason Shafrin1 Comment

A recent paper by Wesiz et al. (Eur J Pub Health 2008) attempts to compare mortality rates and avoidable mortality rates in the urban core of 3 world cities: London (Inner London); New York (Manhattan) and Paris. Mortality The authors find that Paris has the lowest mortality rates and New York has the highest mortality…