The red herring hypothesis contends that the high health care expenditure in old age is caused by proximity to death rather than calendar age. Dissenters point to longitudinal data and claim that health care expenditure age profiles tend to steepen over time. The present paper tests the...

Studies on the effect of ageing on health care expenditures (HCE) have revealed the importance of controlling for time-to-death (TTD). These studies, however, are subject to possible endogeneity if HCE influences remaining life expectancy. This paper introduces a ten year observational period on...

Der Gesundheitssektor ist ein wichtiger Motor der deutschen Wirtschaft. Die demografische Entwicklung, medizinisch-technischer Fortschritt und höherer Wohlstand haben dazu geführt, dass die Ausgaben für Gesundheit in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten überproportional gestiegen sind. Seit 1992 ist...