Can we measure the social importance of health care?

This paper examines the extent to which it is possible to measure the socia l importance, or macro benefits, of health care. In contrast to the many mi cro studies of the benefits of specific health care interventions, methodol ogy relating to such macro benefits is at a very rudimentary stage. A theor etical model is presented that seeks to capture the social consequences of a health care system. In light of this model, three existing empirical appr oaches to answering the question are examined: the inventory approach, the avoidable mortality approach, and the production function approach. All thr ee have severe limitations in terms of the underlying theoretical model, da ta availability, and analytic tools employed. A more fruitful approach may be to investigate the value of undertaking a direct survey of citizens' att itudes toward their health care system.