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Health status and medical expenditures: Is there a link?

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  • Wolfe, Barbara L.

Abstract

Until now, cross-national studies have not demonstrated a positive relationship between health care expenditures and improved health status, as measured by such indicators as age-adjusted mortality rates. It has therefore been argued that cutting expenditures will not have a negative effect upon health status. Using health and life-style data from the OECD for Germany, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France, Sweden and the United States, this study finds that when one holds constant those changes in life style that have an impact upon health (e.g. smoking, drinking, traffic accidents, dangers on the job) and adjusts for inflation and population size, health care expenditures do bear a positive relationship to health status. This suggests that reductions in health care expenditures may well have some cost in terms of overall health.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfe, Barbara L., 1986. "Health status and medical expenditures: Is there a link?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 993-999, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:22:y:1986:i:10:p:993-999
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jack, William & Lewis, Maureen, 2009. "Health investments and economic growth : macroeconomic evidence and microeconomic foundations," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4877, The World Bank.
    2. Blázquez-Fernández, Carla & González-Prieto, Noelia & Moreno-Mencía, Patricia, 2013. "Pharmaceutical Expenditure as a Determinant of Health Outcomes in EU Countries/El gasto farmacéutico como determinante de los resultados en salud en países de la UE," Estudios de Economía Aplicada, Estudios de Economía Aplicada, vol. 31, pages 379-396, Septiembr.
    3. Erika Laranjeira & Helena Szrek, 2016. "Going beyond life expectancy in assessments of health systems’ performance: life expectancy adjusted by perceived health status," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 133-161, June.
    4. Emmanuelle Piérard, 2016. "The effect of health care expenditures on self-rated health status and the Health Utility Index: Evidence from Canada," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Muhammad Shahbaz & Nanthakumar Loganathan & Nooreen Mujahid & Amjad Ali & Ahmed Nawaz, 2016. "Determinants of Life Expectancy and its Prospects Under the Role of Economic Misery: A Case of Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(3), pages 1299-1316, April.
    6. James W. Shaw & William C. Horrace & Ronald J. Vogel, 2002. "The Productivity of Pharmaceuticals in Improving Health: An Analysis of the OECD Health Data," HEW 0206001, EconWPA, revised 11 May 2003.
    7. Fogel, Robert W, 1994. "Economic Growth, Population Theory, and Physiology: The Bearing of Long-Term Processes on the Making of Economic Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 369-395, June.
    8. Filmer, Deon & Pritchett, Lant, 1997. "Child mortality and public spending on health : how much does money matter?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1864, The World Bank.
    9. Patrice Flynn & Martcia Wade & John Holahan, 1997. "State health reform: Effects on labor markets and economic activity," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(2), pages 219-236.
    10. Maksym Obrizan & George L. Wehby, 2012. "Health Expenditures And Life Expectancy Around The World: A Quantile Regression Approach," Discussion Papers 47, Kyiv School of Economics.
    11. Audi, Marc & Ali, Amjad, 2016. "Socio-Economic Status and Life Expectancy in Lebanon: An Empirical Analysis," MPRA Paper 72900, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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