2004

Abstract
In this paper a survey and a meta-analysis of the literature on the relation between education and health is presented. Both the survey and the meta-analysis show that there are strong links between education and health. A crucial question is whether education has a causal effect on health, or not. Our reading of the literature is that the effect of education on health represents a genuine causal effect, that the reverse effect running from health to education is relatively small (at least for adults), and that there are common factors - most notably time preferences - that affect both investments in health and education.  The results of the meta-analysis show that the QALY weight of a year of education is approximately 0.02. Some tentative calculations suggest that the cost-benefit ratio of investments in education on health is highly positive. For public policy this implies that a more integrated approach to education and health policies should be taken.

Key words: education, health
JEL Codes: I1, I2