Abstract
This paper provides a review and critique of various ways in which economists have looked at the problem of allocating resources to health care. Three different perspectives that various economists have used at various times are considered: the so-called human capital view, that version of utilitarianism which leads to willingness to pay as the basis for life valuing, and cost-effectiveness analysis. My purpose is two-fold. First, I want to show that although all these ideas have been advanced within the same disciplinary tradition, they have quite different philosophical roots and justifications. They rely on and/or imply quite different views of the relationship between individuals and the state, and of the objectives at which the state is directed.
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© 1986 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Roberts, M.J. (1986). Economics and the Allocation of Resources to Improve Health. In: Agich, G.J., Begley, C.E. (eds) The Price of Health. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4704-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4704-7_1
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