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Theoretical bounds on the value of improved health

Herrera Araujo, Daniel; Hammitt, James K.; Rheinberger, Christoph M. (2020), Theoretical bounds on the value of improved health, Journal of Health Economics, 72, July 2020, p. 102341. 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102341

Type
Article accepté pour publication ou publié
Date
2020
Journal name
Journal of Health Economics
Volume
72
Number
July 2020
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages
102341
Publication identifier
10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102341
Metadata
Show full item record
Author(s)
Herrera Araujo, Daniel
Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine [LEDa]
Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques [PJSE]
Hammitt, James K.
Rheinberger, Christoph M.
European Chemicals Agency [ECHA]
Abstract (EN)
Policies that improve health and longevity are often valued by combining expected gains in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) with a constant willingness-to-pay (WTP) per QALY. This constant is derived by dividing value per statistical life (VSL) estimates by expected future QALYs. We explore the theoretical validity of this practice by studying the properties of WTP for improved health and longevity in a framework that makes minimal assumptions about the shape of an agent's utility function. We find that dividing VSL by expected QALYs results in an upper bound on the WTP for a marginal improvement in the quality of life, as measured by gains in health status or longevity. Calibration results suggest that analysts using this approach to monetize health benefits overestimate the value of a program or policy by a factor of two on average. We also derive a lower bound on the WTP for improved health and longevity that permits a novel empirical test for the descriptive validity of the QALY model. Our calibrations suggest that this lower bound is on average 20% smaller than the actual WTP.
Subjects / Keywords
Health valuation; Willingness-to-pay; Value per statistical life year; Quality-adjusted life years
JEL
D03 - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
D61 - Allocative Efficiency; Cost–Benefit Analysis
I18 - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
Q18 - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy
Q51 - Valuation of Environmental Effects

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