The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to make preliminary estimates of the health expenditure savings in Australia, resulting from pet ownership. Health costs are significant - they absorb about 8% of the Australian GDP - and if pet owners enjoy better health, the existence of pets has the clear potential to save substantial sums of government and private money.
The methodology adopted to ascertain whether such savings exist and how significant they may be involved:
undertaking research on the behaviour of Australians regarding use of doctors and pharmaceuticals;
establishing whether existing health cost data indicated that the different behaviours could have a measurable economic impact; and
developing a method which would allow the data to be used to calculate the size of any such savings.
The estimates outlined below are based on data from the 1994 Australian NATIONAL PEOPLE & PETS SURVEY (N=1011), conducted by McHarg, Baldock, Headey and Robinson for the Urban Animal Management Coalition (McHarg et al., 1995). Because this survey obtained information about a representative national sample, it is possible for the first time to estimate national expenditure savings resulting from pet ownership. Because the sample is representative it was possible to check that results relating to health benefits and savings were not spurious when statistical controls were used to net out the effects of age and gender*
. * It should be understood that the estimates provided are based on comparing actual Australian health expenditure with a counterfactual situation, namely the expenditure which would be incurred if pets were banned and none existed. The difference between current expenidture and the hypothetical level of expenditure in the absence of pets may be regarded as the savings due to pets. (An alternative means of calculating possible savings would be to postulate various increases or decreases in pet ownership.)