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Socioeconomic Differences in the Adoption of New Medical Technologies

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  • Dana Goldman
  • James P. Smith

Abstract

New medical technologies hold tremendous promise for improving population health, but they also raise concerns about exacerbating already large differences in health by socioeconomic status (SES). If effective treatments are more rapidly adopted by the better educated, SES health disparities may initially expand even though the health of those in all groups eventually improves. Hypertension provides a useful case study. It is an important risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, the condition is relatively common, and there are large differences in rates of hypertension by education. This paper examines the short and long-term diffusion of two important classes of anti-hypertensives - ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers - over the last twenty-five years. Using three prominent medical surveys, we find no evidence that the diffusion of these drugs into medical practice favored one education group relative to another. The findings suggest that - at least for hypertension - SES differences in the adoption of new medical technologies are not an important reason for the SES health gradient.

Suggested Citation

  • Dana Goldman & James P. Smith, 2005. "Socioeconomic Differences in the Adoption of New Medical Technologies," NBER Working Papers 11218, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11218
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    1. James P. Smith, 1999. "Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 145-166, Spring.
    2. James Smith, 2004. "Unravelling the SES health connection," IFS Working Papers W04/02, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Dana P. Goldman & James P. Smith, 2004. "Can Patient Self-Management Help Explain the SES Health Gradient?," HEW 0403004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anderberg, Dan & Chevalier, Arnaud & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2011. "Anatomy of a health scare: Education, income and the MMR controversy in the UK," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 515-530, May.
    2. Huerta, Maria C. & Borgonovi, Francesca, 2010. "Education, alcohol use and abuse among young adults in Britain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 143-151, July.
    3. Lambrelli D & O’Donnell O, 2009. "Why Does the Utilization of Pharmaceuticals Vary So Much Across Europe? Evidence from Micro Data on Older Europeans," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/06, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    4. Sansani, Shahar, 2011. "The effects of school quality on long-term health," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1320-1333.
    5. James P. Smith, 2009. "Comment on "Is the US Population Behaving Healthier?"," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Policy in a Changing Environment, pages 442-446, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Vaalavuo, Maria, 2021. "The unequal impact of ill health: Earnings, employment, and mental health among breast cancer survivors in Finland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Barış Alpaslan & Julide Yildirim, 2020. "The Missing Link: Are Individuals with More Social Capital in Better Health? Evidence from India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 811-834, August.
    8. Schnittker, Jason & Karandinos, George, 2010. "Methuselah's medicine: Pharmaceutical innovation and mortality in the United States, 1960-2000," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 961-968, April.
    9. Marisa E. Domino, 2012. "Does managed care affect the diffusion of psychotropic medications?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 428-443, April.
    10. Binswanger, J. & Carman, K.G., 2011. "The Role of Desicion Making Processes in the Correlation between Wealth and Health," Other publications TiSEM deb8d0eb-7290-4a34-931b-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Francesca Borgonovi & Artur Pokropek, 2016. "Education and Self-Reported Health: Evidence from 23 Countries on the Role of Years of Schooling, Cognitive Skills and Social Capital," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, February.
    12. Lenisa V. Chang, 2018. "Information, education, and health behaviors: Evidence from the MMR vaccine autism controversy," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1043-1062, July.
    13. Jürgen Maurer, 2008. "Assessing horizontal equity in medication treatment among elderly Mexicans: which socioeconomic determinants matter most?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(10), pages 1153-1169, October.
    14. Jürgen Maurer, 2007. "Assessing Horizontal Equity in Medication Treatment Among Elderly Mexicans: Which Socioeconomic Determinants Matter Most?," MEA discussion paper series 07143, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
    15. Frankovic, Ivan & Kuhn, Michael, 2019. "Access to health care, medical progress and the emergence of the longevity gap: A general equilibrium analysis," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • H0 - Public Economics - - General

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