Distribution and access to health care services are important issues within today's societies. In the light of continuing cost increases in the Austrian health care sector efficiency/productivity becomes a matter of consequence. Improvement in efficiency - while maintaining or even improving quality - can make a valuable contribution to significant problems, such as financing. Since in Austria a large part of the health expenditures is spent on hospitals, this book analyses how the relative hospital efficiency has developed between 1997 and 2008. Therefore two methodologies are used: the...