Anchoring Vignettes and the International Comparison of Public Sector Performance

Nigel Rice, Silvana Robone, and Peter C. Smith (from the Centre for Health Economics, University of York) have written a paper on the use of anchoring vignettes to enhance the international comparability of public sector performance.

Using data on health systems responsiveness across 18 OECD countries (contained within the World Health Survey), the authors outline the issues that arise in comparative inference that relies on respondent self-reports. The problem of reporting bias is described and illustrated together with potential solutions brought about through the use of anchoring vignettes. The utility of vignettes to aid cross-country analyses and its implications for comparative inference of health system performance are discussed.