Health, wealth, and Fairness

How much health should we have and how should it be distributed? This paper studies how to define social objectives for the allocation of health and income in a setting where individuals may differ in their preferences about health and consumption, earning ability, and health disposition. It is shown, on the basis of three simple ethical principles, that a reasonable social objective is to apply the maximin criterion to "full-health equivalent" incomes. An application to the choice of the optimal health policy illustrates how this social objective may be used.