Can Wealth Buy Health? A Model of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Investments in Health
构建了一个包含金钱与非金钱健康投资的生命周期模型，发现健康保险覆盖差异对健康与寿命差距影响很小，而终身收入、偏好和健康冲击是主要决定因素。
Abstract In this paper, we develop a life cycle model that features pecuniary and non-pecuniary investments in health in order to rationalize the socioeconomic gradients in health and life expectancy in the United States. Agents accumulate health capital, which affects labor productivity, utility, the distribution of medical spending shocks, and life expectancy. We find that unequal health insurance coverage plays a negligible role in generating the observed gaps in health and longevity. Universal health insurance increases preventive medical spending but not time spent in health promoting activities, as individuals are no longer worried about avoiding high curative medical expenditure shocks due to increased health insurance coverage. Our findings suggest that differences in lifetime income, preferences, and health shocks are the main determinants of inequality in life expectancy.