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on Health Economics |
| By: | Olivier STERCK (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)) |
| Abstract: | Voluntary Testing and Counseling (VTC) is a popular method for fighting the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The purpose of VTC is to reduce the incidence of the virus in a twofold manner. First, testing provides access to health care and antiretroviral therapies (ARV) that diminish the transmission rate of the virus. Second, counseling would encourage safer behavior for both individuals who test HIV-negative and want to avoid a dangerous disease, and altruistic individuals who test HIV-positive and want to protect the others. Surprisingly, empirical evidence from DHS surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa shows that testing services are underused. Moreover, it is rare that both partners of a couple test for HIV. In this paper, I construct a behavioral model explaining how misperceptions of the riskiness of HIV/AIDS may induce, at most, one individual in the couple to test. I show that the correction of wrong beliefs thanks to specific information campaigns may be sufficient to induce testing of both partners. |
| Keywords: | HIV/AIDS, transmission rate, testing, prevention, risk perception, condom, beliefs, observability |
| JEL: | I10 I18 O12 |
| Date: | 2011–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2011024&r=hea |
| By: | Halla, Martin (University of Linz); Zweimüller, Martina (University of Linz) |
| Abstract: | This paper interprets accidents occurring on the way to and from work as negative health shocks to identify the causal effect of health on labor market outcomes. We argue that in our sample of exactly matched treated and control workers, these health shocks are quasi-randomly assigned. A fixed-effects difference-in-differences approach estimates a negative and persistent effect on subsequent employment and income. After initial periods with a higher incidence of sick leave, treated workers are more likely unemployed, and a growing share of them leaves the labor market via disability retirement. Those treated workers, who manage to stay in employment, incur persistent income losses. The effects are stronger for sub-groups of workers who are typically less attached to the labor market. |
| Keywords: | health, employment, income |
| JEL: | I10 J22 D31 J31 J24 J26 J64 J28 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5833&r=hea |
| By: | Coast, Ernestina; Leone, Tiziana; McDaid, David; Hirose, A; Jones, Eleri |
| Date: | 2010–11–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:lselon:http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/36680/&r=hea |
| By: | Erlend Berg; Maitreesh Ghatak; R Manjula; D Rajasekhar; Sanchari Roy |
| Abstract: | The National Health Insurance Scheme (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, RSBY) aims to improve poor people's access to quality health care in India. This paper looks at the implementation of the scheme in Karnataka, drawing on a large survey of eligible households and interviews with empanelled hospitals in the state. Six months after initiation, an impressive 85% of eligible households in the sample were aware of the scheme, and 68% had been enrolled. However, the scheme was hardly operational and utilisation was virtually zero. A large proportion of beneficiaries were yet to receive their cards, and many did not know how and where to obtain treatment under the scheme. Moreover, hospitals were not ready to treat RSBY patients. Surveyed hospitals complained of a lack of training and delays in the reimbursement of their expenses. Many were refusing to treat patients under the scheme until the issues were resolved, and others were asking cardholders to pay cash. As is typical for the implementation of a government scheme, many of the problems discussed can be related to a misalignment of incentives. |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:stieop:025&r=hea |
| By: | Wuppermann, Amelie Catherine |
| Date: | 2011–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:dissen:13187&r=hea |
| By: | Liam Delaney (Geary Institute and School of Economics, University College Dublin,); Alan Fernihough (Geary Institute and School of Economics, University College Dublin); James P. Smith (Rand Corporation) |
| Abstract: | The Irish-born population in England is in worse health than both the native population and the Irish population in Ireland, a reversal of the commonly observed healthy migrant effect. Recent birth-cohorts living in England and born in Ireland, however, are healthier than the English population. The substantial Irish health penalty arises principally for cohorts born between 1920 and 1960. This paper attempts to understand the processes that generated this migrant health pattern. Our results suggest a strong role for early childhood conditions and economic selection in driving the dynamics of health differences between the Irish-born migrants and White English populations. |
| Date: | 2011–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201114&r=hea |
| By: | Jesús M. Carro; Alejandra Traferri |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the estimation of a dynamic ordered probit of self-assessed health status with two fixed effects: one in the linear index equation and one in the cut points. The two fixed effects allow us to robustly control for heterogeneity in unobserved health status and in reporting behaviour, even though we can not separate both sources of heterogeneity. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First it contributes to the literature that studies the determinants and dynamics of Self-Assessed Health measures. Second, this paper contributes to the recent literature on bias correction in nonlinear panel data models with fixed effects by applying and studying the finite sample properties of two of the existing proposals to our model. The most direct and easily applicable correction to our model is not the best one, and has important biases in our sample sizes |
| Keywords: | Dynamic ordered probit, Fixed effects, Self-assessed health, Reporting bias, Panel data, Unobserved heterogeneity, Incidental parameters, Bias correction |
| JEL: | C23 C25 I19 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:werepe:we1118&r=hea |