Women spend about 50 percent more on average on medical care than men, although men who are hospitalized stay 50 percent longer than women. This study empirically tests several hypotheses that may account for these differences. Results show that these differences are explained by the fact that men may be more able to substitute home for market medical care. Men may also have a lower return to the prior use of medical care because men are more likely to suffer from causes against which medical care is not effective. Potential differences in the value of time do not account for the differences in utilization of medical care.

Women spend about 50 percent more on average on medical care than men, although men who are hospitalized stay 50 percent longer than women. This study empirically tests several hypotheses that may account for these differences. Results show that these differences are explained by the fact that men may be more able to substitute home for market medical care. Men may also have a lower return to the prior use of medical care because men are more likely to suffer from causes against which medical care is not effective. Potential differences in the value of time do not account for the differences in utilization of medical care.

This article reports on an empirical analysis of the relationships between alcoholism and income and working. We show that the relationships between alcoholism and labor market success have important age or life-cycle dimensions. We present evidence that alcoholism may affect income more by restricting labor market participation than by affecting the wages of workers. Finally, we demonstrate that the effects of alcoholism on earnings depend on the extent to which one controls for other covariates associated with alcoholism; as such, we suggest that there may be important indirect as well as direct effects of alcoholism on labor market success.

Little is known about the role of specific health problems in affecting labor market productivity. Even less is known about gender differences in the labor market effects of such health problems. Current knowledge of health effects is based largely on samples composed exclusively of men, a common practice in both economics and health research. In the latter case, even a congressional mandate to incorporate females in study samples is reputed to have had little effect (Patricia Schroeder, 1990). In this study, we attempt to determine the structure of gender differences in labor market responses to alcoholism. We use a relatively new data source that allows such comparisons by gender in a large community-based sample. Previous studies have established that there are significant gender differences in labor market behavior. Differences in prevalence rates of alcoholism by gender are also well established. It is estimated that 3 percent of females are currently suffering from alcoholism and twice that many have exhibited symptoms at some time; for males the numbers are 10 and 20 percent, respectively. There is some medical evidence to indicate that physiologically, women and men respond differently to alcohol. For example, a recent study suggests that women have greater vulnerability to the acute and chronic health conditions associated with alcoholism (Mario Frezza et al., 1990).