This collection of Michael Grossman’s most important papers adds essential background and depth to his work on economic determinants of public health. Each of the book’s four sections includes an introduction that contextualizes the issues and addresses the larger stakes of his work. An afterword discusses the significance of Grossman’s approach for subsequent research on health economics, as well as the work others have done to advance and extend his innovative perspective.
Determinants of Health explains how the economic choices people make influence health and health behaviors. It begins with a section on the theoretical underpinnings and empirical results of Grossman’s groundbreaking health economics model, first introduced in the 1970s, followed by essays on the relationship between health and schooling; determinants of infant health, with a special emphasis on public policies and programs; and the economics of unhealthy behaviors. Grossman treats health as a form of human capital. He shows that public policies and programs that determine the price and availability of key inputs have critical effects on outcomes ranging from birth weight and infant mortality to cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, illegal drug use, and obesity. Grossman’s approach has led to a major stream of literature in the field, sparking contributions by the world’s leading health economists, including Joseph Newhouse, Jonathan Gruber, Amy Finkelstein, Michael Greenstone, and David Cutler. His clarity on the role that economics play in people’s good and bad health choices is immensely valuable to the debate over how we legislate and spend on health.
- Table of Contents
- Foreword, by John Mullahy
- Introduction and Acknowledgments
- Part 1. The Demand for Health: Theoretical Underpinnings and Empirical Results
- Introduction to Part 1
- 1. On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health, by Michael Grossman
- 2. The Human Capital Model, by Michael Grossman
- Afterword to Part 1
- Part 2. The Relationship between Health and Schooling
- Introduction to Part 2
- 3. The Correlation between Health and Schooling, by Michael Grossman
- 4. An Exploration of the Dynamic Relationship between Health and Cognitive Development in Adolescence, by Robert A. Shakotko, Linda N. Edwards, and Michael Grossman
- 5. Parental Education and Child Health: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan, by Shin-Yi Chou, Jin-Tan Liu, Michael Grossman, and Ted Joyce
- 6. Women’s Education: Harbinger of Another Spring? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Turkey, by Mehmet Alper Dinçer, Neeraj Kaushal, and Michael Grossman
- Afterword to Part 2
- Part 3. Determinants of Infant Health with Special Emphasis on Public Policies and Programs
- Introduction to Part 3
- 7. Variations in Infant Mortality Rates among Counties of the United States: The Roles of Public Policies and Programs, by Michael Grossman and Steven Jacobowitz
- 8. Determinants of Neonatal Mortality Rates in the United States: A Reduced Form Model, by Hope Corman and Michael Grossman
- 9. Birth Outcome Production Functions in the United States, by Hope Corman, Theodore J. Joyce, and Michael Grossman
- 10. Unobservables, Pregnancy Resolutions, and Birth Weight Production Functions in New York City, by Michael Grossman and Theodore J. Joyce
- 11. The Impact of National Health Insurance on Birth Outcomes: A Natural Experiment in Taiwan, Shin-Yi Chou, Michael Grossman, and Jin-Tan Liu
- Afterword to Part 3
- Part 4. The Economics of Unhealthy Behaviors
- Introduction to Part 4
- 12. The Effects of Government Regulation on Teenage Smoking, by Eugene M. Lewit, Douglas Coate, and Michael Grossman
- 13. Beer Taxes, the Legal Drinking Age, and Youth Motor Vehicle Fatalities, by Henry Saffer and Michael Grossman
- 14. Effects of Alcoholic Beverage Prices and Legal Drinking Ages on Youth Alcohol Use, by Douglas Coate and Michael Grossman
- 15. Rational Addiction and the Effect of Price on Consumption, by Gary S. Becker, Michael Grossman, and Kevin M. Murphy
- 16. An Empirical Analysis of Cigarette Addiction, by Gary S. Becker, Michael Grossman, and Kevin M. Murphy
- 17. An Empirical Analysis of Alcohol Addiction: Results from the Monitoring the Future Panels, by Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka, and Ismail Sirtalan
- 18. The Demand for Cocaine by Young Adults: A Rational Addiction Approach, by Michael Grossman and Frank J. Chaloupka
- 19. An Economic Analysis of Adult Obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, by Shin-Yi Chou, Michael Grossman, and Henry Saffer
- 20. Fast-Food Restaurant Advertising on Television and Its Influence on Childhood Obesity, by Shin-Yi Chou, Inas Rashad, and Michael Grossman
- 21. Food Prices and Body Fatness among Youths, by Michael Grossman, Erdal Tekin, and Roy Wada
- Afterword to Part 4
- Reflections
- Index
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