JEL code I
Health, education and welfare
What policies improve health, learning and wellbeing?
Emerged 1963
Kenneth Arrow's article “Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care” argued that the special economics of medical care comes from uncertainty about who falls ill and whether treatment will work.
An example
Oregon's 2008 Medicaid lottery: insurance improved financial security and reduced depression, but measured physical health did not change significantly within two years (Baicker et al., 2013).