Determinants of Household Health Expenditure: Case of Urban Orissa

Bhabesh, Sen and Himanshu, Sekhar Rout (2007): Determinants of Household Health Expenditure: Case of Urban Orissa. Published in: Utkal Economic Papers , Vol. XIII, No. 1 (2007): pp. 17-23.

Abstract

The main objective of the paper is to increase awareness – not only among health researchers but also among policy makers and practitioners who use health research findings – about the influence of socioeconomic characteristics in terms of income and education on household health expenditures, as well as to encourage improved approaches. The study finds that income of the household has significant influence on its health expenditure where as the effect of education is insignificant. From the study it is found that as disposable income of the household increases, individual takes more care of his life, hence, health expenditure increases but at a particular level of income, due to high life risk, health expenditure becomes independent of income and perfectly elastic, which is termed as “High Life Risk Path (HLRP)”. The health expenditure during HLRP depends on household’s past saving and loanable capacity.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Household Health Expenditure, Income and Health
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I0 - General > I00 - General; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health

References

Bartley, Mel, David Blane and Scott Montgomery (1997): ‘Socioeconomic Determinants of Health: Health and the Life Course: Why Safety Nets Matter’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 314, pp. 1194-1196.

Brunner, Eric (1997): ‘Socioeconomic Determinants of Health: Stress and the Biology of Inequality’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 314, pp. 1472-1475.

Food and Agriculture Organization (1970): Lives in Peril, Rome, p.25.

James, W.P.T., Michael Nelson, Ann Ralph and Suzi Leather (1997): ‘Socioeconomic Determinants of Health: The Contribution of Nutrition to Inequalities in Health’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 314, pp. 1546-1549.

Rahkonen, O., E. Lahelma and M. Huuhka (1997): ‘Past or Present? Childhood Living Conditions and Current Socioeconomic Status as Determinants of Adult Health’, Social Science Medicine, Vol. 44, pp. 327-336.

Robert, S.A. (1999): ‘Socioeconomic Position and Health: the Independent Contribution of Community Socioeconomic Context’, Annu Rev Sociol, Vol. 25, pp. 489-516.

Rout, H.S. (2005): ‘Health Expenditure in Orissa: A Micro Analysis’, Unpublished Ph.D Thesis submitted to Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

Saigal, Suraj (2002): ‘Literature Review on Service Delivery in India’, A Background Reference for The World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People, Draft 2, World Bank, Washington D.C.

Smith G.D. and Y. Ben-Shlomo (1997): ‘Geographical and Social Class Differentials in Stroke Mortality – the influence of Early Life Factors: Comments on Papers by Maheswaren and Colleagues’, J Epidemiol Community Health, Vol. 51, pp. 134-137.

Smith G.D., C. Hart, D. Blane and D. Hole (1998): ‘Adverse Socioeconomic Conditions in Childhood and Cause Specific Adult Mortality: Prospective Observational Study’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 316, pp. 1631-1635.

Yen, I.H., and S.L. Syme (1999): ‘The Social Environment and Health: a Discussion of the Epidemiologic Literature’, Annu Rev Public Health, Vol. 20, pp. 287-308.