In the Grossman Model, health is treated as a measurable “stock” that depreciates over time and can be increased through investments. Grossman himself writes that “investments are produced by household production functions that relate an output of health to such choice variables or health inputs as medical care utilization, diet, exercise, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption” and that “the production function is affected by the efficiency or productivity of a given consumer as reflected by his or her personal characteristics. Given this, is it more limiting than useful to treat health as a single measurable stock when the amount of health needed to be productive varies widely across individuals? If everyone has different lived experiences and constraints, does quantifying health seem misleading or oversimplifying what “being healthy” truly means?
Is it more limiting than useful to treat health as a single measurable stock when the amount of health needed to be productive varies widely across individuals?
by Brianna Lee -
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