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Responsibility-Sensitive Welfare Weights for Health

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew Robson

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Owen O’Donnell

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Tom Van Ourti

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract
We estimate responsibility-sensitive welfare weights for health that facilitate inequality- and inequity-sensitive policy evaluation. In a UK general population sample, 569 on- line experiment participants distribute constrained resources to determine the health of hypothetical individuals distinguished by randomly generated resource productivity as well as sex, income and smoking (41,460 observations). We elicit beliefs about responsibility for income and smoking, and use their associations with the allocations to estimate responsibility-sensitive weights that reflect inequality aversion and health prioritisation by the non-health characteristics. There is slight, moderate and substantial prioritisation of females, the poor and non-smokers, respectively. Inequality aversion lowers weights on females and non-smokers, who are health-advantaged, and raises the weight on the poor, who are health-disadvantaged. As beliefs about responsibility for income and smoking strengthen, weights on the poor decrease and weights on non-smokers significantly increase.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Robson & Owen O’Donnell & Tom Van Ourti, 2024. "Responsibility-Sensitive Welfare Weights for Health," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 24-045/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20240045
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    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/24045.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dolan, Paul & Tsuchiya, Aki, 2009. "The social welfare function and individual responsibility: Some theoretical issues and empirical evidence," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 210-220, January.
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    3. Emmanuel Saez & Stefanie Stantcheva, 2016. "Generalized Social Marginal Welfare Weights for Optimal Tax Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(1), pages 24-45, January.
    4. Marcus Fleming, 1952. "A Cardinal Concept of Welfare," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 66(3), pages 366-384.
    5. Richard Edlin & Aki Tsuchiya & Paul Dolan, 2012. "Public Preferences For Responsibility Versus Public Preferences For Reducing Inequalities," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(12), pages 1416-1426, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experiment; Social Preferences; Inequality Aversion; Equity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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