We investigate two determinants of the price sensitivity of health plan demand among retirees in the German social health insurance (SHI): the size of the choice set and the salience of premium differences. We use variation in the choice set over time and between regions, and an increase in the...

We demonstrate that upward-looking comparisons induce "keeping up with the richer Joneses"-behavior. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we estimate the effect of reference consumption, defined as the consumption level of all households who are perceived to be richer, on household...

In this paper we analyze if an 'urban mortality penalty' exists for today's developing countries, repeating the history of industrialized nations during the 19th century. We analyze the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) of 19 Sub-Saharan African countries for differences in child and adult...

Welfare aspects of longevity increases are often discussed neglecting the complex relationship between longevity and economic growth, which is the focal point of another literature. Combining both perspectives, we develop an endogenous growth OLG-framework to investigate how longevity affects...

This study evaluates the mental and physical strain experienced by informal caregivers. Econometric problems due to individuals selecting themselves in to informal care provision are tackled by using informative and detailed data from the largest sick ness fund in Germany and applying propensity...

Quality report cards addressing information asymmetry in the health care market have become a popular strategy used by policymakers to improve the quality of care for elderly. Using individual level data from the largest German sickness fund merged with institutional level data, we examine the...

Illegal activities harm individuals and society as a whole. Besides the physical harm and immediate wealth loss, crime can entail more subtle, long-lasting consequences, namely, impaired mental health. This article presents significant evidence that the surge of crime rates in Mexico contributed...

We study medical progress within an economy of overlapping generations subject to endogenous mortality. We characterize the individual optimum and the general equilibrium of the economy and study the impact of improvements in the effectiveness of health care. We find that general equilibrium...

This paper presents new findings on biased survival beliefs by constructing their individual-level objective counterparts. We find that biases can be modelled through age-dependent probability weighting functions as known in cumulative prospect theory. The dynamics of these probability weighting...

The Demographic and Health Surveys from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Malawi reveal that a significant proportion of HIV infections in adolescent women occurred in women who claim to be virgin. Two possible conclusions arise from this observation: adolescent women misreport sexual status or non-sexual...