Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/26838 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
Ruhr Economic Papers No. 73
Publisher: 
Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI), Essen
Abstract: 
Studies on the effect of ageing on health care expenditures (HCE) have revealed the importance of controlling for time-to-death (TTD). These studies, however, are subject to possible endogeneity if HCE influences remaining life expectancy. This paper introduces a ten year observational period on monthly HCE, socioeconomic characteristics, and survivor status to first predict TTD and then uses predicted values of TTD as an instrument in the regression for HCE. While exogeneity of TTD has to be rejected, core results concerning the role of TTD rather than age as a determinant of HCE (the red herring hypothesis) are confirmed.
Subjects: 
Health care expenditure
proximity to death
ageing
red herring hypothesis
JEL: 
I10
D12
ISBN: 
978-3-86788-077-0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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