Abstract
This paper surveys and considers the critical value of expenditure per QALY which society can bear, the most important parameter in the cost-effectiveness analysis. This type of research to determine the crtical value has not yet been performed, and thus this paper shall contribute greatly to this field. As a result, the average is six million yen (50 thousands US dollars) but the median is one million yen (eight thousands US dollars), and thus it has a very skewed distribution. Additionaly, age and household income affect it siginificantly. The null hypothesis that the income elasticity is one, is rejected. Therefore, the calculation method based on human capital or foregone income for critical value of expenditure per QALY that society can bear, which has been adopted in previous research, is not supported.
