Analysis of Health Expenditure and Economic Growth in Saudi Arabia and its Comparison with GCC Count

GDP classification of Saudi Arabia according to Economic activities between 2010 to 2018

Question# 1                                                                                   
i.    Obtain the following in respect of Saudi Arabia for the period 2011 to 2019:

(a)    GDP classification of Saudi Arabia according to Economic activities between 2010 to 2018 (in local currency SAR or USD $)
(b)    Economic growth of Domestic government health expenditure as a percentage of total government expenditure 
(c)    Current health expenditure as a percentage of GDP
(d)    Current health expenditure per capita (current US$) 
(e)    Number of Physician and Nursing staff (Total)
(f)    Number of Physician and Nursing staff (those working in private and those working with government/ministry of health)
(g)    Total government expenditure on health (from 2017 to 2019)

ii.   Take any three of the above indicators and compare Saudi Arabia with one of    the GCC.

Question# 2
Briefly review the determinants of health expenditure (using at least three journal articles to support your assertions). (minimum of 300 words)

 

Question# 3
Despite that GDP is used as an indicator of country’s economic growth, yet it has many weaknesses. Thus, Human development Indicators (HDI) could be seen as a better indicator in some respects. Critically discuss HDI as it relates to Saudi Arabia’s economic growth. (minimum of 300 words)

 

Question 4
Case Study: Shall we put up our Price?
Competition, price and revenue

When you buy a can of drink on a train, or an ice-cream in the cinema, or a bottle of wine in a restaurant, you may well be horrified by its price. How can they get away with it?
The answer is that these firms are not price takers. Instead, they can choose what price to charge. We will be examining the behaviour of such firms in Chapters 4 and 5, but here it is useful to see how price elasticity of demand can help to explain their behaviour.

 

Take the case of the can of drink on the train. If you are thirsty, and if you haven’t brought a drink with you, then you will have to get one from the train’s bar, or go without. There is no substitute. What we are saying here is that the demand for drink on the train is inelastic at the normal shop price. This means that the train operator can put up the price of its drinks, and food too, and earn more revenue.

 

Generally, the less the competition a firm faces, the lower will be the elasticity of demand for its products, since there will be fewer substitutes (competitors) to which consumers can turn. The lower the price elasticity of demand, the higher is likely to be the price that the firm charges.

 

Some firms deliberately try to prevent competition. For example, many cinemas prohibit you from taking drinks and snacks into the performance unless you have bought them at the cinema. This allows them to put a 1000 per cent mark-up on popcorn!

 

When there is plenty of competition, it is quite a different story. Petrol stations in the same area may compete fiercely in terms of price. One station may hope that by reducing its price by 1p or even 0.1p per litre below that of its competitors, it can attract customers away from them. With a highly elastic demand, a small reduction in price may lead to a substantial increase in their revenue. The problem is, of course, that when they all reduce prices, no firm wins. No one attracts customers away from the others! In this case it is the customer who wins.

Activity required:
Take two health care products or services you know, and explain why one of them would attracts high price and the other one attracts lower price, and relate this with the concept of elasticity?
The mark here would be apportioned on how relevant you relate it with the real life situation

Question# 5
Suppose that a Ulcer Patient and Flu patient have the following demand for Drug CCC. 
Price (SAR)    Qd-Ulcer Patient    Qd- Flu Patient
350    1900    500
400    1800    200
a)    As the price of the Drug CCC rises from SAR350 to SAR400, what is the price elasticity of demand for 
i.    Ulcer patient (Show your workings)

ii.    Flu patient (Show your workings)

b. Why might Ulcer patients have different elasticity than Flu patients?