Data/hora: 27/07/2024 02:17:46

Provedor de dados: 	31	
País: 	United States	
Título: 	On the Economics of Rational Self-Medication	
Autores: 	Akpalu,   Wisdom.	
Data: 	2008-05-06	
Ano: 	2008	
Palavras-chave: 	Health Production; Self-Medication; Risky Investment; Government Policy; Dynamic Analysis; Demand and Price Analysis; Health Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Risk and Uncertainty; I12; I18; D81; C61.	
Resumo: 	It has been established in the medical literature that self-medicating with imperfect information about either the use of a genuine or counterfeit drug or based on wrong self-diagnosis of ailment, which is predominant especially in developing countries, is a risky investment in health capital. This paper models the decision to self-medicate and the demand for self-medicated drugs. We suppose that investment in self-medication depends on the perception of its effectiveness. The results obtained show that the decision to self-medicate depends on the relative price and perceived effectiveness of self-medication, the elasticity of the shadow value of health with respect to the quantity of health capital, and the relative effectiveness of self-medication in reducing the unpredictable changes in health capital. Furthermore, if an individual self-medicates, self-medication becomes a normal good: it increases if income increases; and it obeys the law of demand (i.e. it increases if its price, relative to that of the risk-free medication, decreases). Moreover, we have shown that some optimum subsidy can discourage self-medication.	
Tipo: 	Working or Discussion Paper	
Idioma: 	Inglês	
Identificador: 	29546

http://purl.umn.edu/6363	
Relação: 	Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM)&gt;Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Valuation Working Papers

SIEV Nota de Lavoro

5.2008	
Formato: 	23