Social and Health Services in the Platform: Developing a Concession Pricing Model for Eldercare Service Platforms

Area of Science:

• Public Administration
• Health Economics
• Platform Economics

Background:

• The growing elderly population necessitates efficient eldercare service platforms (ECSPs).
• Single pricing strategies on ECSPs create mismatches between service providers and consumers.
• Innovative pricing is crucial for balancing user needs and platform sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a concession pricing model for ECSPs that maximizes social welfare.
• To analyze the impact of government subsidies, service quality, network externalities, and price elasticity on ECSP pricing.
• To provide insights for governments and private sectors on optimizing eldercare service provision.

Main Methods:

• Development of a concession pricing model for ECSPs.
• Integration of government subsidy methods, service quality, network externalities, and price elasticity.
• Analysis based on social welfare maximization.

Main Results:

• ECSPs should implement tiered pricing based on network externalities.
• Optimal concession prices decrease with higher service quality, which in turn increases user base.
• Governments should prioritize subsidies for services with low price elasticity to boost efficiency and social welfare.

Conclusions:

• The proposed concession pricing model enhances ECSP efficiency and social welfare.
• Government subsidies effectively expand user bases, reduce prices, and improve overall platform performance.
• Findings offer practical guidance for policymakers and private entities in the eldercare sector.