This setting lets you change the way you view articles. You can choose to have articles open in a dialog window, a new tab, or directly in the same window.
Open in Dialog
Open in New Tab
Open in same window
Open in New Tab
Open in same window
Journal of Economic Perspectives: Vol. 13 No. 2 (Spring 1999)
JEP Volume. 13, Issue 2 | 
Previous ArticleNext Article
Sign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter
Full-text Article (Complimentary)
View Comments on This Article (0) | Login to post a comment
Previous ArticleNext Article
Expand
Quick Tools:
Print Article Summary Email Link to this Article Export CitationSign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter
Explore:
Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status
Article Citation
Smith, James P. 1999. "Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation between Health and Economic Status."
Journal of Economic Perspectives,
13(2): 145-166.
DOI: 10.1257/jep.13.2.145
DOI: 10.1257/jep.13.2.145
Abstract
This paper sketches theoretical reasons why health may alter household savings and provides evidence on the empirical impact of health shocks on household wealth. The impacts on saving are quantitatively large and only partly explained by increased out-of-pocket medical expenses. Other contributing factors include reduced earnings and a revision in life expectancy. The author also delves into reasons why economic status, access to medical care, and deleterious personal behaviors have been rejected as insufficient explanations. New theories emphasize long-term impacts of early childhood or even intrauterine factors, cumulative effects of prolonged exposures to stress, or reactions of macrosocietal factors like rising levels of income inequality.
Article Full-Text Access
Full-text Article (Complimentary)
Authors
Smith, James P. (RAND)
JEL Classifications
I12: Health Production
I11: Analysis of Health Care Markets
I11: Analysis of Health Care Markets
Comments
View Comments on This Article (0) | Login to post a comment
