Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/173278 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
ECON WPS No. 08/2017
Publisher: 
Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Research Group Economics, Vienna
Abstract: 
We study medical progress within an economy of overlapping generations subject to endogenous mortality. Individuals demand health care with a view to lowering mortality over their life-cycle. We characterise the individual optimum and the general equilibrium of the economy and study the impact of improvements in the effectiveness of health care. We find that general equilibrium effects dampen strongly the increase in health care usage following medical innovation. Moreover, an increase in savings offsets the negative impact on GDP per capita of a decline in the support ratio.
Subjects: 
life-cycle model
longevity
health care
medical innovation
overlapping generations
value of life
JEL: 
D91
I11
I12
J11
J17
O31
O41
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.