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More life vs. more goods: explaining rising health expenditures

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  • Charles I. Jones

Abstract

Are health expenditures rising for reasons other than waste or fraud? If so, do these reasons portend a continuation of this rapid pace of increase? Is there an end in sight? This Economic Letter draws on recent economic research (Hall and Jones 2004) to explore some possible answers to these questions. One of the perhaps surprising conclusions from this research is that the rising health share may reflect the natural course of economic growth: as we get richer and richer, one of the most valuable and productive opportunities for our spending is to purchase better health and longer lives.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles I. Jones, 2005. "More life vs. more goods: explaining rising health expenditures," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue may27.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfel:y:2005:i:may27:n:2005-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert E. Hall & Charles I. Jones, 2007. "The Value of Life and the Rise in Health Spending," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 39-72.
    2. Joseph P. Newhouse, 1992. "Medical Care Costs: How Much Welfare Loss?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 3-21, Summer.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Hall & P. Swamy & George Tavlas, 2012. "Generalized cointegration: a new concept with an application to health expenditure and health outcomes," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 603-618, April.
    2. Elizabeth T. Wilde, 2008. "Do Response Times Matter? The Impact of EMS Response Times on Health Outcomes," Working Papers 1065, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    3. Vincenzo Atella & Francesco D'Amico, 2010. "Who is responsible for your health: You, your doctor or new technologies?," CEIS Research Paper 167, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 28 May 2010.
    4. Elizabeth Wilde, 2008. "Do Response Times Matter? The Impact of EMS Response Times on Health Outcomes," Working Papers 1065, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    5. Robert G. Valletta, 2007. "The costs and value of new medical technologies: symposium summary," FRBSF Economic Letter, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue jul6.

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    Keywords

    Insurance; Health; Medical care;
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