近日，北京大学市场经济研究中心主任秦雪征教授与合作者的合作论文《The impact of negative online ratings on physician effort to improve communication: Evidence from China》在经济学领域核心期刊《China Economic Review》2025年6月线上发表。

　　Abstract：How do negative online ratings affect physician effort? Despite a substantial body of literature on financial incentives, empirical evidence regarding the impact of non-financial incentives on physicians remains limited. This study investigates the influence of negative online ratings on physician effort to improve physician-patient communication, using data from a prominent online healthcare platform. Our findings indicate that negative online ratings lead to a significant increase of 18.7% in the number of online consultations being replied to by physicians, a 56.6% rise in the number of words typed, 43.4% increase in the number of dialogues between physicians and patients, and a 30.1% increase in the number of replies. Additionally, physicians exhibit a more positive tone and greater textual coherence, as evidenced by a 0.37 percentage point increase in the probability of providing high-sentiment replies and a 1.23 percentage point rise in the probability of offering high-similarity responses, indicating a noticeable increase in physician effort to improve communication. The effect is more pronounced among physicians holding senior professional titles and those with higher ratings.