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Efficiency of Health Investment: Education or Intelligence?

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  • Govert Bijwaard

    (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

  • Hans van Kippersluis

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands)

Abstract

In this paper we hypothesize that education is associated with a higher efficiency of health investment, yet that this efficiency advantage is solely driven by intelligence. We operationalize efficiency of health investment as the probability of dying conditional on a certain hospital diagnosis, and estimate a multistate structural equation model with three states: (i) healthy, (ii) ill (in hospital), and (iii) death. We use data from a Dutch cohort born around 1940 that links intelligence tests at age 12 to later-life hospitalization and mortality records. The results suggest that higher Intelligence induces the higher educated to be more efficient users of health investment - intelligent individuals have a clear survival advantage for most hospital diagnoses - yet for unanticipated health shocks and diseases that require complex treatments such as COPD, education still plays a role.

Suggested Citation

  • Govert Bijwaard & Hans van Kippersluis, 2014. "Efficiency of Health Investment: Education or Intelligence?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-004/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20150004
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    Cited by:

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    3. Ahsan, Md Nazmul & Maharaj, Riddhi, 2018. "Parental human capital and child health at birth in India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 130-149.
    4. Bijwaard, G.E.; & Tynelius, P.;, 2018. "The impact of mental problems on mortality and how it is moderated by education," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 18/16, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    5. Nikolov, Plamen & Pape, Andreas & Tonguc, Ozlem & Williams, Charlotte, 2020. "Predictors of Social Distancing and Mask-Wearing Behavior: Panel Survey in Seven U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 13745, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Jichun Zhao & Hongbiao Wang & Jianxin Guo, 2021. "Smog Avoidance Investment While Improving Air Quality: Health Demand or Risk Aversion? Evidence from Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-21, July.
    7. Bijwaard, Govert E., 2022. "Educational differences in mortality and hospitalisation for cardiovascular diseases," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Oikawa, M., 2020. "The effect of education on health policy reform: Evidence from Japan," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 20/08, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Roman Hoffmann & Sebastian Uljas Lutz, 2019. "The health knowledge mechanism: evidence on the link between education and health lifestyle in the Philippines," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(1), pages 27-43, February.
    10. Masato Oikawa, 2024. "The role of education in health policy reform outcomes: evidence from Japan," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 25(1), pages 49-76, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Intelligence; Health; Multistate duration model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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