American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Rationing by Race
American Economic Review
(pp. 3552–85)
Abstract
We document how deepening resource scarcity results in rationing on the basis of race in a high-stakes setting: health care. Using detailed, time stamped data on 107,000 inpatient admissions to a large health system, we find that in-hospital mortality increases for Black but not White patients as hospitals reach capacity. These findings are not explained by differential patient selection. We identify rationing by wait times as a mechanism, documenting that sicker Black patients wait longer for care than healthier White patients at almost all capacity levels. Text analysis of unstructured clinical notes reveals rationing of provider effort as another mechanism.Citation
Singh, Manasvini, and Atheendar Venkataramani. 2026. "Rationing by Race." American Economic Review 116 (9): 3552–85. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20240701Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
- I12 Health Behavior
- I14 Health and Inequality
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination