Skip to content

Cass R. Sunstein, Health-Health Tradeoffs, 63 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1533 (1996).


Abstract: A distinctive and pervasive problem arises when government regulation designed to diminish one health risk actually increases other health risks. For example, bans on the use of asbestos may lead companies to use other, more dangerous substitutes. This essay explores health-health tradeoffs, including those that arise because regulatory expenditures increase poverty and unemployment and in that way increase poor health. The essay proposes institutional changes designed to ensure aggregate risk reduction rather than mere risk redistribution. It includes some general remarks about individual and collective rationality in the context of health risks.