We study how measures of socioeconomic health inequality inform about welfare inequality. We argue that transfers of either income or health from a better off to a worse off individual should reduce welfare inequality. Lacking an objective measure of individual welfare, we suggest that such a...

Empirical studies often report that social inequalities in health are larger in Nordic welfare states than in less egalitarian societies. This is called the health equality paradox, and may actually follow from some properties of bivariate measures such as the concentration index. In this paper,...

Several empirical papers have indicated that the health inequalities in the Nordic welfare states seem to be at least as high as health inequalities in other European countries even if the Nordic states have a more egalitarian income structure. This is in contrast to standard economic theory...

In the present paper we examine how different sets of beliefs about the health effects of smoking would influence a rational smoker. By embedding the rational addiction theory in a Grossman model of health investment modified to take account of psychological adaptation effects, we present a...

Empirical studies show that years of schooling are positively correlated with good health. The implication may go from education to health, from health to education, and from factors that influence both variables. We formalize a model that determines an individual's demand for knowledge and...

The allocation of public care services should be determined by individual needs but can be influenced by economic factors. This paper examines the impact of economic incentives on the allocation of nursing home care in the Norwegian long-term care system. The study uses a theoretical model and...

Empirical studies show that years of schooling are positively correlated with good health. The implication may go from education to health, from health to education, or from factors that influence both variables. We formalize a model that determines an individual's demand for knowledge and...