IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jhucap/doi10.1086-662034.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Offsetting Behavior, Medical Breakthroughs, and Breakdowns

Author

Listed:
  • Sam Peltzman

Abstract

Progress against mortality risk has contributed importantly to growth in the stock of human capital. This progress is occasionally accelerated by unexpected medical breakthroughs. However, sudden gains against one risk can induce offsetting increases in other risks. I examine this possibility empirically with data from three unexpected changes in mortality risk: the introduction of antibiotics, discovery of new treatments for heart disease, and the AIDS epidemic (an unexpected breakdown of progress). I find that offsetting responses can provide a unifying explanation for important features of data from these three different episodes. These features include increased noninfectious disease mortality in groups most benefited by antibiotics, a connection between heart disease gains and increased obesity, and declining external cause mortality risks in vulnerable groups in places with high AIDS incidence.

Suggested Citation

  • Sam Peltzman, 2011. "Offsetting Behavior, Medical Breakthroughs, and Breakdowns," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(3), pages 302-341.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/662034
    DOI: 10.1086/662034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/662034
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/662034
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/662034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McClellan, Mark & Noguchi, Haruko, 1998. "Technological Change in Heart-Disease Treatment: Does High Tech Mean Low Value?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 90-96, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Manuel Hoffmann & Roberto Mosquera & Adrian Chadi, 2019. "Vaccines at Work," TWI Research Paper Series 116, Thurgauer Wirtschaftsinstitut, Universität Konstanz.
    2. Grant Miller & Christine Valente, 2016. "Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception Are Substitutes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 979-1009, August.
    3. Gilad Sorek, 2013. "Efficient Self-Protection and Progress in Curing-Technology," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2013-07, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    4. Sam Peltzman, 2014. "Socialized medicine and mortality," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 179-205, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aakvik, Arild & Holmas, Tor Helge, 2006. "Access to primary health care and health outcomes: The relationships between GP characteristics and mortality rates," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 1139-1153, November.
    2. N. Meltem Daysal & Mircea Trandafir & Reyn van Ewijk, 2015. "Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 28-50, July.
    3. repec:zbw:rwirep:0277 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. John Geweke & Gautam Gowrisankaran & Robert J. Town, 2003. "Bayesian Inference for Hospital Quality in a Selection Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(4), pages 1215-1238, July.
    5. Amitabh Chandra & Tyler Hoppenfeld & Jonathan Skinner, 2016. "Are Black-White Mortality Rates Converging? Acute Myocardial Infarction in the United States, 1993–2010," NBER Chapters, in: Insights in the Economics of Aging, pages 205-222, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Jonathan S. Skinner, 2006. "Geography and the Use of Effective Health Care in the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan, pages 195-208, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. AfDB AfDB, 2007. "Working Paper 91 - Health Expenditures and Health Outcomes in Africa," Working Paper Series 2224, African Development Bank.
    8. Gautam Gowrisankaran & Robert J. Town, 2000. "Inferring Hospital Quality from Patient Discharge Records Using a Bayesian Selection Model," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1773, Econometric Society.
    9. Diane Lauderdale, 2001. "Education and survival: Birth cohort, period, and age effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(4), pages 551-561, November.
    10. Arild Aakvik, 2004. "The Relationship Between Economic Conditions, Access to Health Care, and Health Outcomes," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 34, Econometric Society.
    11. Haruko Noguchi & Satoshi Shimizutani & Yuichiro Masuda, 2008. "Regional variations in medical expenditure and hospitalization days for heart attack patients in Japan: evidence from the Tokai Acute Myocardial Study (TAMIS)," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 123-144, June.
    12. Daysal, N. Meltem & Trandafir, Mircea & van Ewijk, Reyn, 2013. "Returns to Childbirth Technologies: Evidence from Preterm Births," IZA Discussion Papers 7834, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Waldemar Florczak, 2009. "Makroekonomiczne uwarunkowania oczekiwanej długości życia w Polsce," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 5-6, pages 61-90.
    14. Satoshi Shimizutani & Hiroyuki Yamada & Haruko Noguchi & Yuichiro Masuda & Masafumi Kuzuya, 2013. "Exploring the causal relationship between length of stay in hospitals and treatment outcome: Evidence from Japanese AMI patients," OSIPP Discussion Paper 13E006, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University.
    15. Kuntz, Ludwig & Mennicken, Roman & Scholtes, Stefan, 2011. "Stress on the Ward – An Empirical Study of the Nonlinear Relationship between Organizational Workload and Service Quality," Ruhr Economic Papers 277, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    16. Haruko Noguchi & Yuichiro Masuda & Masafumi Kuzuya & Akihiko Iguchi & Jeffery Geppert & Mark McClellan, 2006. "A Comparison of the Quality of Health Care in the United States and Japan," NBER Chapters, in: Health Care Issues in the United States and Japan, pages 165-194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Amitabh Chandra & Jonathan Skinner, 2003. "Geography and Racial Health Disparities," NBER Working Papers 9513, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. AfDB AfDB, 2007. "Working Paper 91 - Health Expenditures and Health Outcomes in Africa," Working Paper Series 2304, African Development Bank.
    19. Ludwig Kuntz & Roman Mennicken & Stefan Scholtes, 2011. "Stress on the Ward – An Empirical Study of the Nonlinear Relationship between Organizational Workload and Service Quality," Ruhr Economic Papers 0277, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/662034. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JHC .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.