Issues and Challenges of Measurement of Health:Implications for Economic Research

Martine Audibert (martine.audibert@uca.fr)

Working Papers from HAL

Abstract: According to the human capital theory, health is a determinant of the economic development and should play a role in the fight against poverty. On the other side, the economic growth, by supplying better sanitation, water quality and hygiene, better education and income, may improve population's health. Economists, in investigating the relations between development and health, asked for valid and relevant health status measurement. But, on the other hand, the health concept is complex as health includes several dimensions, and researchers face a battery of health indicators. The purpose of this study is to discuss, specifically for economic research, the particularity of each health indicator, the potential bias of their measurement, their advantages, disadvantages, and interest. As health indicators are too numerous, a selection was done and the analysis concerns the most frequent indicators, but also those which should be more used into the economic research perspective. Discussed health indicators are life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, mortality rates (maternal and infant mortality included), cause-specific morbidity rates, Dalys and Qalys.

Keywords: cerdi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-01-10
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00554267
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00554267/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Issues and Challenges of Measurement of Health:Implications for Economic Research (2009)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00554267

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD (hal@ccsd.cnrs.fr).