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Health and Wealth in an Aging America

September 28, 2004

9:30 am
Program Registration
10:00 am
Health in an Aging America
Moderator

Richard Suzman, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Behavioral and Social Research Program
National Institute on Aging

Presenters
Anne Case, Ph.D., Princeton University
Gender differences in health

David Cutler, Ph.D., Harvard University
The value of medical expenditures

Jonathan Skinner, Ph.D., Dartmouth College
Geography of medical spending

Dana Goldman, Ph.D., RAND
The future of medical expenditures
Noon
Lunch
1:00 pm
Wealth in an Aging America
Moderator
Richard Suzman, Ph.D.
Presenters

James P. Smith, Ph.D., RAND
Linking health and wealth

David Laibson, Ph.D., Harvard University
The psychology of savings

Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D., Princeton University
Measuring Well-Being
2:30 pm
Adjourn

Sponsored by the National Institute on Aging
National Institutes of Health

Program Speakers

Dr. Richard Suzman , Moderator – Dr. Suzman is Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Suzman is the architect of NIA's Economics of Aging program, one of the first of its kind at NIH to look at socioeconomic factors and health. He will lead the briefing on health and wealth in an aging America.

The following NIA-supported researchers are featured:

Dr. Anne Case , Princeton University – Dr. Case, a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton, specializes in development, public finance, and intrahousehold resource allocation. Her recent study illuminates gender differences in mortality and morbidity, and her presentation will address the question of why women report worse health but men die at higher rates at all ages.

Dr. David Cutler , Harvard University – Dr. Cutler is known for his insights into the causes and consequences of increases in medical spending. His presentation will explore the value of American medical spending and the productivity of the medical industry. Dr. Cutler is currently Professor of Economics and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Social Sciences at Harvard.

Dr. Jonathan Skinner , Dartmouth College – Dr. Skinner's research interests include the determinants of health care spending and outcomes among different income groups in the older population. In his presentation, Dr. Skinner will compare expenditures on healthcare region-by-region, looking at which areas get the most for their money. Dr. Skinner is a Professor in the Department of Economics and the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School.

Dr. Dana Goldman , RAND – Dr. Goldman, a Senior Economist and Director of Health Economics at RAND, specializes in health care reform and organization, as well as the financial impact of biomedical advances. His presentation will explore the cost and worth of new technologies in healthcare and examine how prevention plays a role in maintaining and improving health.

Dr. James P. Smith , RAND – Dr. Smith will discuss the relationship between health and wealth. Dr. Smith's current studies on how early life events relate to later life health outcomes are part of his overall interest in life-cycle decision making. Dr. Smith has served as a Senior Economist at RAND since 1974.

Dr. David Laibson , Harvard University – Dr. Laibson is a Professor of Economics at Harvard and an expert on consumer decision-making and resource allocation. His recent study is of institutions that facilitate good decision-making in 401(k) plans. Dr. Laibson's presentation will explain a new way to help employees save more money for retirement.

Dr. Daniel Kahneman , Princeton University – Dr. Kahneman is a Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work integrating psychological research into the economic sciences. At this presentation, Dr. Kahneman will examine new approaches to measuring well-being in the population as a way to determine the effectiveness of public policy and private decision-making.

Page last updated Feb 16, 2008