López i Casasnovas, GuillemPinto Prades, José Luis2025-04-012025-04-012022López Casasnovas G, Pinto Prades JL. QALY maximization and the social optimum. Review of Public Economics. 2022;242(3):111-27. DOI: 10.7866/HPE-RPE.22.3.52386-4176http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70066The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) approach as a paradigmatic measure of health outcomes is widely used in the economic evaluation of health policies and is even trying to be emulated in other public policy areas. The objective of this paper is to structure the arguments underlying the use of QALYs in cost-effectiveness analyses, which condition its applicability. To this effect, the paper intervenes in the unreasonable use of the approach in terms of its limitations when prioritizing health services. In short, the authors are generally in favor of the instrument but do not have blanket enthusiasm in support of it.application/pdfengHacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics by Instituto de Estudios Fiscales is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.7866/HPE-RPE.22.3.5QALYCost effectivenessThresholdsEconomic evaluationPharmaeconomicsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess