Is High and Growing Spending on Cancer Treatment and Prevention Harmful to the United States Economy?
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: I have been asked to offer some thoughts on the question of whether the economic consequences of current levels and rates of growth in spending on cancer treatment and prevention pose a problem for the US economy. I will interpret “pose a problem” as doing harm to the economy and the people who live, work, and consume in that economy; even this refinement will still require some discussion of what we might mean by “harm,” and, for that matter, what we might mean by “the US economy.” I offer two propositions, one certain and the other tentative. The certain proposition is this: No one can prove that cancer spending harms the economy. The tentative proposition must be tentative because data are incomplete (and sometimes nearly nonexistent) and concepts are vague, but here it is: current levels of spending and growth in spending probably benefit the economy, but the benefit may well be modest.
Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology
Author: Mark V. Pauly
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2130581744