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Medical innovation and its diffusion: Implications for economic performance and welfare

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  • Frankovic, Ivan
  • Kuhn, Michael
  • Wrzaczek, Stefan

Abstract

We study the impact on economic performance and welfare of medical innovations and their endogenous diffusion. We construct a general equilibrium model with a medical sector and overlapping generations subject to endogenous mortality and calibrate it to reflect the development of the US economy and health care over the cardiac revolution during the 1980s and 1990s. By counterfactual analysis we find that (i) medical innovations have increased welfare without compromising GDP growth; (ii) there is a sizeable welfare loss due to the adoption lag involved with imperfect diffusion; and (iii) there is scope for Pareto improvement by way of subsidization of innovative health care.

Suggested Citation

  • Frankovic, Ivan & Kuhn, Michael & Wrzaczek, Stefan, 2020. "Medical innovation and its diffusion: Implications for economic performance and welfare," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:66:y:2020:i:c:s0164070420301865
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2020.103262
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Kuhn & Klaus Prettner, 2023. "Rising Longevity, Increasing the Retirement Age, and the Consequences for Knowledge‐based Long‐run Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(357), pages 39-64, January.
    2. Meilin Möllenkamp & Benedetta Pongiglione & Stefan Rabbe & Aleksandra Torbica & Jonas Schreyögg, 2022. "Spillover effects and other determinants of medical device uptake in the presence of a medical guideline: An analysis of drug‐eluting stents in Germany and Italy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S1), pages 157-178, September.
    3. James, Steffan & Liu, Zheng & Stephens, Victoria & White, Gareth R.T., 2022. "Innovation in crisis: The role of ‘exaptive relations’ for medical device development in response to COVID-19," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    4. Volker Grossmann, 2021. "Medical Innovations and Ageing: A Health Economics Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 9387, CESifo.
    5. Frankovic, Ivan & Kuhn, Michael, 2023. "Health insurance, endogenous medical progress, health expenditure growth, and welfare," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. Chen, Simiao & Kuhn, Michael & Prettner, Klaus & Bloom, David E. & Wang, Chen, 2021. "Macro-level efficiency of health expenditure: Estimates for 15 major economies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    7. Kelly, Mark & Kuhn, Michael, 2022. "Congestion in a public health service: A macro approach," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Diffusion; Health care; Life-cycle model; Longevity; Medical innovation; Overlapping generations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models

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