ELICITING STATED HEALTH PREFERENCES - AN APPLICATION TO WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR LONGEVITY

The economic analysis of many health policies requires evaluation of t he benefits of programs that may prolong human lives. This article con tributes to the development of credible values for longevity, demonstr ating the feasibility of applying stated-preference market-research te chniques to a new area of preference revelation and framing the proble m as extending longevity under realistic health states associated with advanced age. Respondents to the authors' stated-preference survey cl early indicated that quality of life affects the value of quantity of life. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of life-extension values to specific health and activity-limitation conditions. The article al so discusses problems that remain to be solved before valid and reliab le longevity values can be obtained.