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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2023 Feb 27;13(1):3324.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-30559-2.

Discounting money and health effects from communicable and noncommunicable diseases in Thailand

Jirawit Yadee  1   2   3 , Unchalee Permsuwan  2   3 , Kansinee Guntawongwan  4 , Woraluck Himakalasa  4 , Piyaluk Buddhawongsa  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Discounting money and health effects from communicable and noncommunicable diseases in Thailand

Jirawit Yadee et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the discount rates for money and health outcomes in the Thai context, including the discount rates for communicable and non-communicable diseases. Moreover, this study aimed to explore the socio-demographic characteristics that influence discounting. The computer-based experimental design was used to obtain time preferences for money and health in a total of 1202 Chiang Mai province population, aged 25-50, individually interviewed by trained interviewers. Money-related questions were carried out in all subjects. For health-related questions, all subjects were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio for response to questions about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (N = 602) and air pollution (N = 600). A choice-based elicitation procedure was performed in the experiment to obtain the indifference values from subjects' time preferences. The cumulative weighting functions were generated using the indifference values to indicate the degree of discounting. The discount factors were computed from the cumulative weighting functions. The discount rates were estimated using a continuous approximation based on the relationship between the discount factors and the parameters governing the discounting model. The Tobit model was applied to investigate the relationships between discounting and socio-demographic characteristics. Discounting for money was greater than discounting for health. Money and health had annual discount rates of 6.2% and 1.3%, respectively. Furthermore, in the COVID -19 situation, the annual discount rate for health was higher than that in the air pollution situation (2.4% vs. 0.7%). Generation X subjects (aged 42 years and above), children under the age of 15 in the household, and underlying diseases were positively related to discounting, while household income was negatively related to discounting. Health should be discounted at a lower rate than money. Moreover, different discount rates should be considered for different types of diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Example of questions about health and money. COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative weighting functions. COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019; PM2.5, Air pollution with fine particulate matter.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relation between the area measures for money and health.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cumulative distribution functions of the discount rates. Representations: COVID-19 = Coronavirus disease 2019, PM2.5 = Air pollution with fine particulate matter.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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