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QALYs, Person Trade-Offs, and the Pareto Principle

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  • Lars Peter Østerdal

    (Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

A considerable literature seems to argue the use of person trade-offs to estimate the quality-adjustment factor in Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY) models. A similar practise is followed by the WHO to estimate the disability weights used in calculation of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) for assessment of region- and disease-specific burden of disease. In this note we show that QALY (and DALY) models based on person trade-off scores generally violate the Pareto principle.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Peter Østerdal, 2004. "QALYs, Person Trade-Offs, and the Pareto Principle," Discussion Papers 04-10, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:0410
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    person trade-off; QALY; DALY; Pareto principle; social welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics

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