How Diagnostic Tests Affect Prevention: a Cost-Benefit Analysis

Louis Eeckhoudt, Christian Gollier () and Giovanni Immordino

CSEF Working Papers from Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to offers insight for evaluating research and development in diagnostic tests. We show that a rational policy maker perfectly informed about health risks may choose to reduce investment in prevention when efficient diagnostic tests become available. We show that prevention and diagnostic tests are substitutes rather than complements. As a result the regular improvements in diagnostic technology that are observed can justify a lower investment on prevention at any given unitary price for this activity. The analysis is a useful tool for the allocation of funding between diagnostic and preventive medicine.

Keywords: prevention; diagnostic tests (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-02-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-mic
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.csef.it/WP/wp53.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
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:sef:csefwp:53

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CSEF Working Papers from Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Dr. Maria Carannante ().