Authors
Summary
Policy makers faced with equality-efficiency trade-offs can articulate the nature and extent of theirhealth inequality aversion using social welfare functions. In this study we use data from an onlinesurvey of the general public in England (n=246) to elicit health inequality aversion parameters bynumerically solving Atkinson and Kolm social welfare functions. We elicit median inequality aversionparameters of 10.95 for Atkinson and 0.15 for Kolm. These values suggest substantial concern forhealth inequality among the English general public which, at current levels of quality adjusted lifeexpectancy, implies weighting health gains to the poorest fifth of people in society six to seven timesas highly as health gains to the richest fifth.