TY  - BOOK
AU  - Eldridge,Damien S.
TI  - A learning theory of referrals
T2  - Discussion papers
SN  - 1921377266
U1  - 362.10994 21
PY  - 2007///
CY  - Bundoora, Vic.
PB  - La Trobe University. School of Business
KW  - SERVICIOS DE SALUD
KW  - ATENCION EN SALUD
KW  - ANALISIS ECONOMETRICO
KW  - AUSTRALIA
KW  - ATENCION MEDICA
N1  - Bibliografía: p. 25-27
N2  - Many service industries, including the medical and legal professions in some countries, display a gated structure. Rather than approaching a final producer directly, a consumer will first seek a referral from an intermediary. Such an industry structure might help to alleviate adverse selection problems between parties that interact infrequently. Intermediaries aggregate many short-run transactions between various consumers and a particular producer. As such, they might be able to learn a producers level of proficiency more rapidly than an individual consumer. However, the presence of a positive information externality means that too few consumers will seek a referral. As such, some form of regulation to encourage consumers to seek a referral might be warranted
UR  - http://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/130905/2007.06.pdf
ER  -