Socioeconomic determinants of screening test participation

Participation in regular health screening is expected to improve individuals' health and to reduce health expenditure. However, the crucial question is whether screening can deliver the expected benefits. In order to answer this question, it is firstly indispensable to determine whether screening participants represent a selected sample. Because selection impedes the identification of causal effects of screening on health and economic outcomes. Moreover, selection carries important implications for health authorities regarding access to health services. Using individual-level data of Voralberg and Upper-Austria I find that people with higher socio-economic status have a higher propensity to participate in screening. Thus, self-selection into the Austrian screening program exist. In addition, I provide first descriptive results that suggest that screeners may not be healthier and do not create lower health expenditure. The concluding chapter present a research strategy that aims at identifying the causal effcts of screening on economic and health outcomes.