On the Economics of Rational Self-Medication
| dc.creator | Akpalu, Wisdom | |
| dc.date | 2017-04-01T15:33:04Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-09T02:47:34Z | |
| dc.description | It has been established in the medical literature that self-medicating with imperfect information about either the use of a genuine or counterfeit drug or based on wrong self-diagnosis of ailment, which is predominant especially in developing countries, is a risky investment in health capital. This paper models the decision to self-medicate and the demand for self-medicated drugs. We suppose that investment in self-medication depends on the perception of its effectiveness. The results obtained show that the decision to self-medicate depends on the relative price and perceived effectiveness of self-medication, the elasticity of the shadow value of health with respect to the quantity of health capital, and the relative effectiveness of self-medication in reducing the unpredictable changes in health capital. Furthermore, if an individual self-medicates, self-medication becomes a normal good: it increases if income increases; and it obeys the law of demand (i.e. it increases if its price, relative to that of the risk-free medication, decreases). Moreover, we have shown that some optimum subsidy can discourage self-medication. | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.22004/ag.econ.6363 | |
| dc.identifier | https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/6363/files/dp080005.pdf | |
| dc.identifier | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/6363 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/520110 | |
| dc.language | eng | |
| dc.publisher | ||
| dc.source | http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/6363 | |
| dc.title | On the Economics of Rational Self-Medication | |
| dc.type | Text |