Value of Statistical Life
Value of statistical life (VSL) is what people would pay for small cuts in their risk of death, per expected death avoided, used in cost-benefit analysis.
Encyclopaedia
Explore comprehensive, evidence-informed explanations of key health economics concepts, including their development, application and relationships to other concepts. Published entries are validated through human expert review.
Concepts, entries and ontology terms
A concept page is a published entry on the wiki. Some concepts also have a full encyclopaedia article. The Health Economics Ontology (HEO) holds every concept, including dictionary terms without an article, so it is larger than the list of published pages. The knowledge graph shows how concepts relate to each other.
Value of Statistical Life Year
The value of a statistical life year (VSLY) is the money value per year of a small gain in life expectancy, derived from the VSL for cost-benefit analysis.
Value Set
A value set is the set of utility weights, from a general public valuation study, that scores every health state an instrument such as EQ-5D describes.
Vertical Equity
Vertical equity is the principle that those in greater need should get appropriately more care, and those more able to pay should pay more.
Visual Analogue Scale
The visual analogue scale (VAS) is a line, usually scored 0 to 100, on which people rate their own health or a health state between two labelled ends.
Weak Dominance
Weak dominance is when another option costs no more and is at least as effective, and is strictly better on one, so the dominated option is dropped.
Welfare Criterion
A welfare criterion is a decision rule that ranks policies or allocations as better or worse for society, such as the Pareto test or health maximisation.
Welfare Economics
Welfare economics is the normative branch of economics that judges whether changes in the allocation of resources and health make society better off.
Wellbeing or Capability Instrument
Wellbeing or capability instruments are outcome measures, such as ICECAP, WEMWBS or EQ-HWB, that capture benefits beyond health that EQ-5D QALYs miss.
Willingness to Accept
Willingness to accept (WTA) is the smallest sum a person would take as compensation to give up a good or bear a loss, such as a worse health state.
Willingness to Pay
Willingness to pay (WTP) is the most money a person would give up for a health gain or other benefit, used to value outcomes in cost-benefit analysis.
Willingness-to-Pay Estimation
Willingness-to-pay estimation is the econometric step that turns contingent valuation or discrete choice answers into money values for health benefits.
Willingness-to-Pay Threshold
A willingness-to-pay threshold is the cost per QALY below which a treatment counts as good value; strictly, the most society would pay for one extra QALY.
X-Efficiency
X-efficiency is the efficiency with which a hospital or firm turns its inputs into output, lowered by weak effort, motivation or management.
Years Lived with Disability
Years lived with disability (YLDs) measure non-fatal health loss, usually as prevalence times disability weight; adding years of life lost gives the DALY.