Avoiding Decay: The Transition from a Private to Mixed Private-Public Dental Market

This thesis evaluates the potential transition of Australia's dental care system from a private dominant market to a mixed private-public market with Medicare rebates. Our evaluation employs a novel methodological framework combining incentivised experimental economics with agent-based matching simulation to evaluate policy reform prior to implementation. It characterises the impact of national subsidisation on affordability, utilisation and access for dental services in Australia. The results identify distinct groups of consumers and dentists with different preferences, and illustrates that the policy transition would: reduce prices, increase access and utilisation across dental services, and increase the welfare of both dentists and consumers.