Abstract
Health inequality aversion parameters can be used to represent alternative value judgements about policy concern for reducing health inequality versus improving total health. In this study, we use data from an online survey of the general public in England (n = 244) to elicit health inequality aversion parameters for both Atkinson and Kolm social welfare functions. We find median inequality aversion parameters of 10.95 for Atkinson and 0.15 for Kolm. These values suggest substantial concern for health inequality among the English general public which, at current levels of quality adjusted life expectancy, implies weighting health gains to the poorest fifth of people in society six to seven times as highly as health gains to the richest fifth.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1328-1334 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Health Economics (United Kingdom) |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was part funded by the C2D2 programme, an inter-disciplinary initiative supported by the University of York and the Wellcome Trust. Matthew Robson was primarily funded by NIHR and is now supported by the AQM ESRC studentship (ES/J500215/1). Richard Cookson is supported by the NIHR (Senior Research Fellowship, SRF-2013-06-015). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding bodies, the NHS or the Department of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
