IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v30y1984i4p440-451.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Risk Attitude and Time Preference in Health

Author

Listed:
  • Amiram Gafni

    (Faculty of Management, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel)

  • George W. Torrance

    (Faculty of Business / Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M4)

Abstract

Risk attitude and time preference are well-known and distinct concepts in the study of individuals' preferences for goods such as money. This paper reviews and explores the application of these concepts to the field of health. A mathematical model is presented, both in a general form and in an exponential form, which relates an individual's risk attitude in health to three effects---a quantity effect, a gambling effect and a time preference effect. It is shown that the overall risk attitude, as measured by its direction and magnitude, is merely the sum of the individual effects, as measured by their directions and magnitudes. Measurement methods are presented which can be used in a given situation to determine which effects are operating, in what directions and with what magnitudes. A new measurement procedure based on the temporary palliation of a chronic condition is described as a method of obtaining an individual's time preference pattern for health.

Suggested Citation

  • Amiram Gafni & George W. Torrance, 1984. "Risk Attitude and Time Preference in Health," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 440-451, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:30:y:1984:i:4:p:440-451
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.30.4.440
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.30.4.440
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.30.4.440?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:30:y:1984:i:4:p:440-451. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.