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Altruism, fertility, and the value of children: Health policy evaluation and intergenerational welfare

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Author Info
Birchenall, Javier A.
Soares, Rodrigo R.

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Abstract

This paper accounts for the value of children and future generations in the evaluation of health policies. This is achieved through the incorporation of altruism and fertility in a "value of life" type of framework. We are able to express adults' willingness to pay for changes in child mortality and also to incorporate the welfare of future generations in the evaluation of current policies. Our model clarifies a series of puzzles from the literature on the "value of life" and on intergenerational welfare comparisons. We show that, by incorporating altruism and fertility into the analysis of the recent U.S. experience, the estimated welfare gain of a young adult from reductions in mortality easily doubles.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V76-4SWN0KS-1/2/195385cc7ff2a6d1b7aff7b90598ead9
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Public Economics.

Volume (Year): 93 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1-2 (February)
Pages: 280-295
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Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:93:y:2009:i:1-2:p:280-295

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Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505578

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Related research
Keywords: Value of life Mortality Fertility Altruism Intergenerational welfare Willingness to pay;

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  19. Mark Dickie, 2005. "Parental Behavior and the Value of Children's Health: A Health Production Approach," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 855-872, April.
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