Working Paper: NBER ID: w14089
Authors: Amy Finkelstein; Erzo FP Luttmer; Matthew J. Notowidigdo
Abstract: We estimate how the marginal utility of consumption varies with health. To do so, we develop a simple model in which the impact of health on the marginal utility of consumption can be estimated from data on permanent income, health, and utility proxies. We estimate the model using the Health and Retirement Study's panel data on the elderly and near-elderly, and proxy for utility with measures of subjective well-being. We find robust evidence that the marginal utility of consumption declines as health deteriorates. Our central estimate is that a one-standard deviation increase in the number of chronic diseases is associated with an 11 percent decline in the marginal utility of consumption relative to this marginal utility when the individual has no chronic diseases. The 95 percent confidence interval allows us to reject declines in marginal utility of less than 2 percent or more than 17 percent. Point estimates from a wide range of alternative specifications tend to lie within this confidence interval. We present some simple, illustrative calibration results that suggest that state dependence of the magnitude we estimate can have a substantial effect on important economic problems such as the optimal level of health insurance benefits and the optimal level of life-cycle savings.
Keywords: Marginal Utility; Health; Consumption; Chronic Diseases; Economic Behavior
JEL Codes: D12; I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| marginal utility of consumption (D11) | optimal share of medical expenditures reimbursed by health insurance (G52) |
| marginal utility of consumption (D11) | optimal fraction of earnings saved for retirement (D14) |
| number of chronic diseases (I12) | marginal utility of consumption (D11) |
| health (I19) | marginal utility of consumption (D11) |