The value of preventing a fatality or (saving) a statistical life is an important question in health economics as well as environmental economics. This paper reviews and adds new insights to several of the issues discussed in the literature. For example, how do we define the value of a...

In analysis of atemporal models, comparative statics experiments are typically carried out, often employing envelope properties, such as Roy's identity, Hotelling's lemma and Shephard's lemma, in order to simplify the analysis. In analysis of dynamic models, such experiments are seldom...

The aged dependency ratio or ADR is growing at a fast pace in many countries. This fact causes stress to the economy and might create conflicts of interest between young and old. In this paper the properties of different health insurance systems for the elderly are analysed within an overlapping...

In this paper, we develop a simple model of the benefits and costs of being on a waiting list. The model shows that complex factors are in operation, implying that a shorter waiting time need not necessarily be preferred to a longer waiting time. We also present an empirical study, where a...

This study addresses the question of willingness to pay (WTP) for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in order to alleviate menopayusal symptoms. A utility model is specified where the individual obtains utility from consumption of goods and health. The purchase of a treatment is represented as a...

The value of preventing a fatality or (saving) a statistical life is an important question in health economics as well as environmental economics. This paper reviews and adds new insights to several of the issues discussed in the literature. For example, how do we define the value of a...

In this study we report an attempt to measure the WTP of car owners for a reduction of the probability of being killed in a traffic accident. One group of respondents is offered a safety device to be installed in their car, while another group is offered a public safety program (improved road...

Previous studies indicate that the general public would prefer to reallocate medical resources from old people to young ones, and also has a low WTP for measures that increase the survival probability at an advanced age. In this paper, we present an analysis of the value of a ‘blip’, i.e. an...

In this note the value of parametric changes in hazard rates is analyzed. Two different kinds of changes, sudden or 'blip' changes and persistent changes, respectively, are considered within a model in which both the marginal rate of time preference and the survival probability are...

In this paper we discuss the efficiency properties of insurance markets where supplementary private insurance is allowed to exist together with a compulsory government insurance plan. Our main conclusion, which is contrary to both those of Besley (1989) and Selden (1993), is that in a simple...