Statistical analysis and econometric modeling of the determinants of the demand for health care in Morocco

Abstract

There are frightening inequalities in health and access to care worldwide. Thus, health, represents an important component of human capital, is an essential sector for the development of any economy.. Many people in the world have no access to health care or without medical insurance (WHO, 2013), especially in developing countries, millions of people suffer from preventable diseases such as infectious diseases, malnutrition... (WHO, 2016). Like many developing countries, Morocco has implemented, in recent years, several reforms aimed at improving the accessibility of health care services with the objective of eliminating disparities inherent to the characteristics (socioeconomic, demographic, epidemiological...) of the population on the one hand and the supply of care (type of care, distance,...) on the other. This article uses data from the national survey on household living standards conducted by the Haut-commissariat au Plan in 2006/07 among 7062 households (+36,000 people) in the country's 16 regions to study the demand for health care in Morocco. A health care demand model was used, which, through an estimation of the binomial Logit model, made it possible to identify the determinants of health care use. The results obtained show that the rate of use of modern health care is higher among patients in urban areas and those who have medical coverage, as well as health care expenditures that remain high despite the implementation of several public policies.

JEL Classification: C5

Paper type: Empirical research.