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on Health Economics |
| By: | Seth M. Freedman; Alex Hollingsworth; Kosali I. Simon; Coady Wing; Madeline Yozwiak |
| Abstract: | Difference-in-Difference (DID) estimators are a valuable method for identifying causal effects in the public health researcher’s toolkit. A growing methods literature points out potential problems with DID estimators when treatment is staggered in adoption and varies with time. Despite this, no practical guide exists for addressing these new critiques in public health research. We illustrate these new DID concepts with step-by-step examples, code, and a checklist. We draw insights by comparing the simple 2 × 2 DID design (single treatment group, single control group, two time periods) with more complex cases: additional treated groups, additional time periods of treatment, and with treatment effects possibly varying over time. We outline newly uncovered threats to causal interpretation of DID estimates and the solutions the literature has proposed, relying on a decomposition that shows how the more complex DID are an average of simpler 2X2 DID sub-experiments. |
| JEL: | I0 I1 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31842&r=hea |
| By: | Black, B.; French, E.; McCauley, J.; Song, J. |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income receipt on mortality for individuals on the margin of being allowed versus denied benefits. Exploiting the random assignment of administrative law judges to disability insurance cases, we find that benefit allowance increases 10-year mortality rates by 2.8 percentage points for marginal beneficiaries. However, using a Marginal Treatment Effects approach, we and evidence that benefit receipt reduces mortality for inframarginal beneficiaries, who are typically less healthy than marginal beneficiaries. Furthermore, we find suggestive evidence that allowance reduces mortality among those with expensive health conditions such as cancer. |
| Keywords: | Disability, Benefits, Mortality |
| JEL: | H51 H55 I12 I13 J14 J22 |
| Date: | 2023–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2375&r=hea |
| By: | Tatyana Deryugina; Julian Reif |
| Abstract: | Many environmental hazards produce health effects that take years to arise, but quasi-experimental studies typically measure outcomes and treatment over short time periods. We develop a new approach to overcome this challenge and use it to gauge the effect of exposure to air pollution on US life expectancy. Using changes in wind direction as an instrument for daily sulfur dioxide levels, we first characterize the short-run mortality effects of acute exposure during the time period 1972-1988. Exposure causes two distinct mortality patterns: a short-run mortality displacement effect, and a persistent accelerated aging effect. We then incorporate our estimates into a flexible health production model to quantify the lifelong effects of chronic air pollution exposure for a cohort born in 1972. Model calculations of the effect of chronic exposure on life expectancy are 7-8 times larger than the effect implied by simple extrapolation of our short-run empirical estimates. Ninety percent of the survival benefits accrue after the first fifty years of life, implying that most of the 1970 Clean Air Act's health benefits have yet to emerge for cohorts born after its passage. |
| JEL: | I18 Q53 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31858&r=hea |
| By: | Rania Gihleb; Osea Giuntella; Jian Qi Tan |
| Abstract: | Unions play a crucial role in determining wages and employment outcomes. However, union bargaining power may also have important effects on non-pecuniary working conditions. We study the effects of right-to-work laws, which removed agency shop protection and weakened union powers on long hours and non-standard work schedules that may adversely affect workers' health and safety. We exploit variation in the timing of enactment across US states and compare workers in bordering counties across adopting states and states that did not adopt the laws yet. Using the stacked approach to difference-in-differences estimates proposed by Cengiz et al. (2019), we find evidence that right-to-work laws increased the share of workers working long hours by 6%, while there is little evidence of an impact on hourly wages. The effects on long hours are larger in more unionized sectors (i.e. construction, manufacturing, and transportation). While the likelihood of working non-standard hours increases for particular sectors (education and public administration), there is no evidence of a significant increase in the overall sample. |
| JEL: | I1 J08 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31867&r=hea |
| By: | Giancarlo Buitrago; Javier Amaya-Nieto; Grant Miller; Marcos Vera-Hernández |
| Abstract: | There is substantial evidence that cost-sharing in medical care constrains total health spending. However, there is relatively little (and unclear) evidence on its health effects, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This paper re-evaluates the link between outpatient cost-sharing and health, studying Colombia’s entire formal sector workforce observed monthly between 2011 and 2018 with individual-level health care utilization records linked to payroll data and vital statistics. Because Colombia’s national health system imposes discrete breaks in outpatient cost-sharing requirements across the earnings distribution, we estimate a dynamic regression discontinuity model, finding that greater outpatient cost-sharing initially reduces use of outpatient care (including consultations and drugs), resulting in fewer diagnoses of common chronic diseases – and over time, increases the prevalence and severity of chronic diseases as well as use of inpatient care. Ultimately, greater outpatient cost-sharing measurably increases mortality, raising 8-year mortality by 4 deaths per 10, 000 individuals. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to show a relationship between cost-sharing and adult mortality risk in a low- or middle-income country, a relationship important to incorporate into social welfare analyses of cost-sharing policies. |
| JEL: | I10 I11 O15 O54 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31908&r=hea |
| By: | Andrea M. Flores; George-Levi Gayle; Andrés Hincapié |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of job-protected leave policies on intergenerational mobility, long-run child outcomes, and parental decisions (labor market, investments in children, and fertility). We merge rich sources of historical information on family leave policies across the United States since 1973 with over 40 years of survey data covering two generations of individuals. Exploiting variation in the timing of job-protected leave policies introduced in a large set of 18 states and the District of Columbia before the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993, we find that the pre-FMLA protected leave policies had a level effect and a mobility effect. The level effect yields from overall improvements in education and wages for the children born under these policies. The mobility effect, chiefly an increase in intergenerational mobility in education, stems from heterogeneity in the effects of the policies: children of mothers with fewer years of education benefit more. As a potential mechanism, we find that the policies increased mothers’ time investments in children and the likelihood of the households having childcare expenses. Finally, consistent with the tradeoffs of policy design, we find that the policies exacerbated the motherhood penalty in labor market outcomes and that they affected fertility choices, increasing the likelihood of having a first child and decreasing the likelihood of having subsequent children. |
| JEL: | I24 I38 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31911&r=hea |
| By: | Botha, Ferdi (University of Melbourne); Kabátek, Jan (University of Melbourne); Meekes, Jordy (Leiden University); Wilkins, Roger (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we quantify the causal effects of commuting time and working from home (WFH) arrangements on the mental health of Australian men and women. Leveraging rich panel-data models, we first show that adverse effects of commuting time manifest only among men. These are concentrated among individuals with pre-existing mental health issues, and they are modest in magnitude. Second, we show that WFH arrangements have large positive effects on women's mental health, provided that the WFH component is large enough. The effects are once again concentrated among individuals with pre-existing mental health issues. This effect specificity is novel and extends beyond Australia: we show that it also underlies the adverse effects of commuting time on the mental health of British women. Our findings highlight the importance of targeted interventions and support for individuals who are dealing with mental health problems. |
| Keywords: | mental health, commuting, working from home, unconditional quantile regression |
| JEL: | D1 I1 R41 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16618&r=hea |
| By: | Sylvie Blasco (Le Mans University (France), GAINS-TEPP, IRA, IZA); Eva Moreno Galbis (Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, AMSE, Marseille, France); Jeremy Tanguy (University Savoie Mont Blanc (France), IREGE) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we assess how two smoking-related parental health shocks, the diagnosis of lung cancer and the diagnosis of another smoking-related cancer, affect offspring smoking behavior depending on the timing of the health shock. We use two strategies to isolate the informational shock effect from the transmission effect associated with parental smoking. We first focus on individuals whose parents were diagnosed with smoking-related cancer and exploit heterogeneity in the individual's age at diagnosis. We then build a retrospective panel and use individual fixed effects to absorb the transmission effect. We find that receiving a parental diagnosis at the age when the decision to smoke is about to be made reduces the long-term probability of being a smoker and the duration of smoking. |
| Keywords: | smoking, health shocks, intergenerational transmission |
| JEL: | I10 I12 D8 D84 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2333&r=hea |
| By: | Melanie Borah; Andreas Knabe; Christine Lücke |
| Abstract: | This paper examines possible spillover effects of parental unemployment on the subjective wellbeing of 12- to 21-year-old children. Using German panel data (SOEP), we show that unemployment of fathers and mothers is negatively associated with their children’s life satisfaction. When controlling for time-invariant individual heterogeneity, our results suggest that maternal unemployment has negative effects, while no effect of fathers’ unemployment can be detected. In subgroup analyses, we do not find differential impacts between sons and daughters or between younger and older children. Further results suggest that the impact of parental unemployment differs between high- and low-unemployment regions. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, life satisfaction, happiness, children, intergenerational transmission |
| JEL: | I31 J13 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10776&r=hea |
| By: | Benjamin, Grant; Couillard, Ben; Hall, Jonathan D. |
| Abstract: | Cohen and Dechezleprêtre (2022) investigate the heterogeneous impact of temperature on mortality across Mexico, and how affordable healthcare services that target the low-income population attenuate the mortality effects of weather events. They find that while extreme temperatures are more dangerous than less extreme temperatures, the increased frequency of non-extreme temperatures mean these temperatures cause more deaths. First, we reproduce the paper's main findings, uncovering a minor coding error that has a trivial effect on the main results. Second, we test the robustness of the results to clustering at the state level, omitting precipitation, and using a different weighting scheme. The original results are robust to all of these changes. |
| Keywords: | Mortality, Weather Events, Affordable Health Care, Poverty |
| JEL: | I12 I13 I14 O13 O14 Q54 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:90&r=hea |
| By: | Li, Jinkai (Ghent University); Luo, Erga (Zhejiang University); Cockx, Bart (Ghent University) |
| Abstract: | In 2015, 15% of all children in China were left behind in the countryside because at least one of their parents migrated to a city. We implement an event study analysis between 2010 and 2018 on five waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to investigate the dynamic effects of parental migration on the health of left behind young children (LBC). While we find a gradual increase in medical expenditures, we do not detect any significant impact on the incidence of sickness. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the incidence of overweight declines gradually since their parents' first migration and reports suggestive evidence for mental health improvement. We argue that these long-term positive effects on health and health consumption can be explained by the transitory nature of migration, the high-quality substitution of the caregiver role by grandparents, and by a reorientation in family expenditures, partly induced by government policy. |
| Keywords: | young left-behind children, parental migration, Hukou system, long-term impact on health, event study analysis, mechanisms analysis |
| JEL: | I15 J10 J61 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16596&r=hea |
| By: | Sulin Sardoschau (HU Berlin) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of exposure to violence during pregnancy on anthropometric and cognitive outcomes of children in the medium-run. I combine detailed household-level data on more than 36, 000 children with geo-coded information on civilian casualties in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq between 2003 and 2009 and exploit within mother differences in prenatal exposure to violence. I find that one violent incident during pregnancy decreases height and weight for age scores by 0.13 standard deviations and lowers cognitive and behavioral skills of children. Leveraging information on the severity, type and perpetrator of violence, I isolate the effect of stress from access to prenatal care. I show that the results hold when restricting attention to incidents with little impact on the local infrastructure and are largest for more stressful events; primarily those that target the civilian population and involve execution and torture. |
| Keywords: | stress; child health; Iraq; |
| JEL: | I12 J13 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:452&r=hea |
| By: | Pablo Garcia-Sanchez; Olivier Pierrard |
| Abstract: | We build a life cycle model to study the implications of two types of lifetime uncertainty on investment in health and welfare. We show that when the hazard rate of death depends on age, uncertainty increases health investment. Instead, when hazard rate depends on human frailty, uncertainty decreases health investment. In both cases, uncertainty reduces welfare. The size of the effects depends on an aggregate parameter related to the natural increase in human frailty with age, to the marginal return on health investment and to the rate of time preference. We first derive the main results from a small model which admits an analytical solution, before generalizing them in a larger model using numerical simulations. |
| Keywords: | life cycle, uncertainty, health, welfare. |
| JEL: | C60 D15 D81 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcl:bclwop:bclwp178&r=hea |
| By: | Kobak, Dmitry; Bessudnov, Alexey; Ershov, Alexander; Mikhailova, Tatiana; Raksha, Alexei |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we used excess deaths among young males to estimate the number of Russian fatalities in the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022. We based our calculations on the official mortality statistics in 2022, split by age and gender. To separate excess deaths due to war from those due to Covid-19, we relied on the ratio of male to female deaths, and extrapolated the 2015--19 trend to get the baseline value for 2022. We found noticeable excess male mortality in all age groups between 15 and 49, with 20, 600±1, 000 excess male deaths overall. This estimate was obtained after excluding all HIV deaths that showed complex dynamics unrelated to the war. Depending on the modelling assumptions, the estimated number of deaths varied from about 15, 700 to about 23, 600, with 20, 600 corresponding to our preferred model. Our estimate should be treated as a lower bound on the true number of deaths as the data do not include either the Russian military personnel missing in action and not officially declared dead, or the deaths registered in the Ukrainian territories annexed in 2022. |
| Date: | 2023–11–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:xcrme&r=hea |
| By: | Guillermo Cruces (University of Nottingham, CEDLAS-FCE-UNLP, and CONICET); Martín A. Rossi (Universidad de San Andrés); Ernesto Schargrodsky (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, CAF, and CONICET) |
| Abstract: | We exploit a natural experiment to study the causal link between dishonest behavior and public employment. When military conscription was mandatory in Argentina, eligibility was determined by both a lottery and a medical examination. To avoid conscription, individuals at risk of being drafted had strong incentives to cheat in their medical examination. These incentives varied with the lottery number. Exploiting this exogenous variation, we first present evidence of cheating in medical examinations. We then show that individuals with a higher probability of having cheated in health checks exhibit a higher propensity to occupy non-meritocratic public sector jobs later in life. |
| Keywords: | Conscription; public employment; state capacities; dishonesty; impressionable years |
| JEL: | D91 J45 K42 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sad:wpaper:168&r=hea |
| By: | Agar Brugiavini; Ludovico Carrino; Giacomo Pasini |
| Abstract: | The provision of long-term care (LTC) for senior citizens in Italy is at the center of the recent policy debate. Italy has witnessed a spectacular increase in the share of people aged 65 and over and in particular of people aged 80 and over, which could translate in large increases in the number of people in need of care. We show that individuals who are in need of LTC have lower economic resources than the average, so that many frail older people have little financial means to pay out-of-pocket for formal care. In fact, publicly provided care is highly fragmented, with stark differences emerging in terms of coverage and generosity across Italian regions. Hence, the supply of LTC is relying heavily on the informal support of members of the family, especially women, at the same time formal care is characterised by a significant underground economy of unskilled carers. |
| JEL: | D1 I13 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31861&r=hea |
| By: | Olofsson, Sara (IHE - The Swedish Institute for Health Economics); Rosén Klement, Maria (IHE - The Swedish Institute for Health Economics); Persson, Ulf (IHE - The Swedish Institute for Health Economics) |
| Abstract: | Chronic pain is pain that carries on for longer than 12 weeks despite medication or treatment. The condition is common, affecting around 1 in 5 people. The AI-powered digital tool PainDrainer™ allows for individualized coaching to manage and control chronic pain. The objective of this study is to estimate the societal gains, in terms of health gain, production gain and health care cost savings, associated with the use of PainDrainer™. <p> The health gain associated with PainDrainer™ was estimated using PROMIS® (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) data reported from the multicentre clinical trial, translated to preference-based quality-of-life weights, using two different available value sets. The productivity gain associated with PainDrainer™ was estimated using data on daily capacity to work reported in the clinical trial and values derived based on the human capital approach. The health care cost savings was estimated using published literature and assumptions, based on changes in treatment and medication reported in the clinical trial. <p> The total societal gain was estimated to around $8, 700 per patient and year, consisting of a monetized health gain ($4, 550 per patient and year), production gain ($3, 370 per patient and year), and healthcare cost savings ($797 per patient and year). Future research, e.g., long-term follow-up, is needed to get a better understanding of the impact on healthcare resource use and production gain (including presenteeism). |
| Keywords: | chronic pain; AI; digital tool |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ihewps:2023_008&r=hea |
| By: | Banks, J.; McCauley, J.; French, E. |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the state of Long-Term Care (LTC) in England. LTC, which is generally referred to in England as adult social care, supports activities of daily living for older and disabled individuals to improve their quality of life. This includes stays in nursing homes as well as home-based help with tasks such as washing, dressing, and feeding. |
| Date: | 2023–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2373&r=hea |
| By: | Bayerlein, Michael; Villarreal, Pedro A. |
| Abstract: | The "One Health" approach has found its way into political processes at various levels. The reason for this is the increased occurrence of zoonoses, i.e. infectious diseases that can be reciprocally transmitted between animals and humans. One Health is located at the intersection of human, animal, and ecosystem health on the one hand and calls for trans-sectoral solutions on the other. Numerous substantive issues beleaguer the practical design of the One Health approach as well as its implementation by the World Health Organization (WHO), regional institutions, and states. One Health is currently being addressed in three contexts in particular: in the negotiations on the pandemic treaty, in the EU's Global Health Strategy, and in the German government's strategy on global health. |
| Keywords: | One Health, Global Health Governance, EU Global Health Strategy, Pandemic Treaty, zoonoses, Antimicrobial resistance, AMR, International Health Regulations, IHR, Global Early Warning System, GLEWS+ |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:279932&r=hea |
| By: | Amalia R. Miller; Kamalini Ramdas; Alp Sungu |
| Abstract: | We measure the impact of the initial Indian national COVID-19 lockdown on digital activity using browser histories of 1, 094 individuals, spanning over 31.5 million website visits on computers and mobile devices. Reflecting the predicted increase in the value of online activity, both men and women in our sample dramatically increased their internet browsing during the lockdown. However, men’s browsing increased by significantly more, causing gender gaps overall and in key browsing categories, and in browsing on mobile devices. Our browser data showed significant relative reductions in women’s online job search, corroborated in aggregate data obtained from a major Indian online job platform, indicating potentially persistent harms to women’s employment. Consistent with increased childcare obligations driving the observed gender gaps, we find that gaps were greatest among parents. Men and women in our sample had similar browsing levels and trends pre-pandemic, which diverged during the lockdown. Our primary findings therefore shed new light on determinants of digital time use, while also highlighting the importance of considering both extensive and intensive margins of digital activity to track the digital divide. In our secondary analysis of time devoted to childcare, we find conflicting survey responses between fathers (who report an increase relative to mothers) and mothers (who report no such increase). While our data cannot directly resolve this conflict, they do show fathers having larger increases in time spent online, with no relative increase in childcare-related browsing. This secondary result demonstrates the value of complementing survey data with digital trace data. |
| JEL: | I18 J13 J16 J22 J24 K39 O15 O33 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31919&r=hea |
| By: | Arapakis, K., French, E.; French, E. |
| Abstract: | In this paper we evaluate the challenges of funding retirement in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. We first show that the pandemic had only modest effects on life expectancy and employment. These effects were small relative to longer term trends. Nevertheless, they worsened pension funding problems, highlighting the need for future pension reforms. Next, we highlight key evidence on how labor supply responds to pension reforms. Evidence suggests that incentivising later retirement can reduce pension deficits. |
| Date: | 2023–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2376&r=hea |
| By: | Yuxi Heluo; Kexin Wang; Charles W. Robson |
| Abstract: | In this work, we contribute the first visual open-source empirical study on human behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to investigate how compliant a general population is to mask-wearing-related public-health policy. Object-detection-based convolutional neural networks, regression analysis and multilayer perceptrons are combined to analyse visual data of the Viennese public during 2020. We find that mask-wearing-related government regulations and public-transport announcements encouraged correct mask-wearing-behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, changes in announcement and regulation contents led to heterogeneous effects on people's behaviour. Comparing the predictive power of regression analysis and neural networks, we demonstrate that the latter produces more accurate predictions of population reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our use of regression modelling also allows us to unearth possible causal pathways underlying societal behaviour. Since our findings highlight the importance of appropriate communication contents, our results will facilitate more effective non-pharmaceutical interventions to be developed in future. Adding to the literature, we demonstrate that regression modelling and neural networks are not mutually exclusive but instead complement each other. |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2311.13046&r=hea |
| By: | Barteska, Philipp; Dobkowitz, Sonja; Olkkola, Maarit; Rieser, Michael |
| Abstract: | We show that the first nationwide mass vaccination campaign against measles increased educational attainment in the United States. Our empirical strategy exploits variation in exposure to the childhood disease across states right before the Measles Eradication Campaign of 1967–68, which reduced reported measles incidence by 90 percent within two years. Our results suggest that mass vaccination against measles increased the years of education on average by about 0.1 years in the affected cohorts. We also find tentative evidence that the college graduation rate of men increased. |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2023–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:120706&r=hea |
| By: | Boese-Schlosser, Vanessa; Bayerlein, Michael; Gates, Scott; Kamin, Katrin; Murshed, Syed Mansoob |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic increased pressure on the relationship between governments and the public, making cooperation between both actors more critical than ever. Surprisingly, there is significant variation in public compliance with health policies, especially regarding vaccine uptake across different countries. Based on this finding, we seek to understand why vaccination hesitancy varies between countries. Instead of focusing solely on government trust and satisfaction, this research examines the impact of individuals' experiences having lived in autocratic countries on vaccine hesitancy. We derive a formal model of how autocratic experience and the subsequent distrust in health policies affect the individual calculus on vaccine uptake, and test the propositions of our model in a sample of 33 European countries on the micro-level. We find that autocratic experience gravely impacts individual vaccine hesitancy. Our findings shed light on the prolonged impact of autocratic rule on societal processes and on the roots of vaccine hesitancy, which is not rooted in general distrust but rather a highly specific form of scepticism towards government action. |
| Keywords: | Autocracy, COVID-19, Pandemic, Vaccination, Public Health |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbtod:280396&r=hea |
| By: | Marcelo Arbex (Department of Economics, University of Windsor); Luiz A. Barros (CAEN - Graduate Studies in Economics, Federal University of Ceara, Brazil); Marcio V. Correa (CAEN - Graduate Studies in Economics, Federal University of Ceara, Brazil) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of the public health system and inequality during a health crisis (pandemic). We study a two-jurisdiction economy (rich, poor) with two household types (entrepreneurs, workers) and a shock affecting health goods demand and labor productivity. The presence of a public health system helps reduce health consumption inequality and lessens the impact of health shocks on non-health consumption inequality, especially when the pandemic leads to productivity loss. However, it also contributes to increased total consumption inequality, highlighting trade-offs in addressing inequality during a pandemic. Access to a public health system mitigates pandemic-driven inequality and dampens its rise. |
| Keywords: | Pandemic, Covid-19, Public Health, Inequality. |
| JEL: | E60 H0 I18 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wis:wpaper:2302&r=hea |