A consistency test of the time trade-off

J Health Econ. 2003 Nov;22(6):1037-52. doi: 10.1016/s0167-6296(03)00046-8.

Abstract

This paper tests the internal consistency of time trade-off utilities. We find significant violations of consistency in the direction predicted by loss aversion. The violations disappear for higher gauge durations. We show that loss aversion can also explain that for short gauge durations time trade-off utilities exceed standard gamble utilities. Our results suggest that time trade-off measurements that use relatively short gauge durations, like the widely used EuroQol algorithm, are affected by loss aversion and lead to utilities that are too high.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Back Pain / physiopathology
  • Back Pain / psychology*
  • Bias
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Health Services Research
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Psychometrics
  • Spain
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Time Factors