Ethics and resource allocation: An economist's view

This paper debates some of the issues involved in attempting to apply economic analysis to the health care sector when medical ethics plays such an important part in determining the allocation of resources in that sector. Two distinct ethical positions are highlighted as being fundamental to the understanding of resource allocation in this sector--deontological and utilitarian theories of ethics. It is argued that medical ethics are often narrowly conceived in that there is a tendency for the individual, rather than society at large, to form the focal point of the production of the service 'health care'. Thus medical ethics have been dominated by individualistic ethical codes which do not fully consider questions relating to resource allocation at a social level. It is further argued that the structure of the health care sector augments these 'individualistic' ethics. It is also suggested that different actors in the health care sector address questions of resource allocation with respect to different time periods, and that this serves to further enhance the influence of 'individualistic' ethical codes in this sector.