105/2012 Kerry Hickson

Economists are aware that conventional measures of national income do not capture everything that is important to individuals. In particular, the value of huge improvements in health over the twentieth century has gone uncalculated. Usher (1980) and Nordhaus (2002) have emphasised the virtues of including mortality improvements in some form of extended national income measure. This paper therefore sets out a methodology that can be used to calculate the value of mortality and morbidity improvements. The results indicate that health improvements in developed economies have been worth at least $1 trillion. As such not accounting for historical health gains leads to a significant underestimate of improvements in standards of living and economic development.

Economic History

Review Of Income And Wealth

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4991.2012.00524.x