Health values, preference inconsistency, and insurance demand

Arbeitspapier

Several empirical studies provide evidence that their actual health state affects people's attitudes towards health and medical care in hypothetical health states. In the tradition of behavioural economics this paper considers the actual health state as a point of reference and builds a model for studying the implications of this phenomenon on health insurance and on demand for medical care. It considers the insurance demand of different types of agents: naive individuals, individuals who are able to commit to medical care demand and sophisticated individuals. Furthermore, it raises the question of whether inconsistency of preferences reinforces or tones down moral hazard problems.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 1634

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ ; Analysis of Health Care Markets ; Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design ; Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
• Subject: health insurance ; medical care ; health state ; behavioural economics ; prospect theory ; time inconsistency ; Gesundheit ; Konsumentenverhalten ; Gesundheitsversorgung ; Krankenversicherung ; Nachfrage ; Prospect Theory ; Moral Hazard ; Präferenztheorie ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Wrede, Matthias
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2005

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/19098
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET