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Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia

Author

Listed:
  • Pilar García Gómez

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Ángel López Nicolás

    (Universidad Pompeu Fabra, CRES y Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena)

Abstract

In this paper we measure the degree of socio economic inequality in both mental health and general health for the Catalan population. We find that income is the main contributor to inequality, especially in the case of mental health. The regional variations in both health measures are striking, with the Barcelona districts faring relatively bad and Lleida being the region where the population reports the greatest level of health all else held equal. A big share of inequality in the two health measures is due to the favourable position in both health and income of those who enjoy an indefinite contract. We also find that risky working conditions affect both health measures and explain an important share of socio-economic inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Pilar García Gómez & Ángel López Nicolás, 2005. "Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 175(4), pages 103-121, december.
  • Handle: RePEc:hpe:journl:y:2005:v:175:i:4:p:103-121
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew M. Jones & Angel López Nicolás, 2004. "Measurement and explanation of socioeconomic inequality in health with longitudinal data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(10), pages 1015-1030, October.
    2. Eddy van Doorslaer & Xander Koolman, 2004. "Explaining the differences in income‐related health inequalities across European countries," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(7), pages 609-628, July.
    3. Pilar García Gómez & Ángel López, 2004. "Regional differences in socio-economic health inequalities in Spain," Economics Working Papers 757, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Oct 2004.
    4. Wagstaff, Adam & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Watanabe, Naoko, 2003. "On decomposing the causes of health sector inequalities with an application to malnutrition inequalities in Vietnam," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 207-223, January.
    5. Wagstaff, Adam & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Paci, Pierella, 1989. "Equity in the Finance and Delivery of Health Care: Some Tentative Cross-country Comparisons," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 89-112, Spring.
    6. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    7. Michael Greenacre, 2008. "Correspondence analysis of raw data," Economics Working Papers 1112, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jul 2009.
    8. Hugh Gravelle, 2003. "Measuring income related inequality in health: standardisation and the partial concentration index," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(10), pages 803-819, October.
    9. Doorslaer, Eddy van & Jones, Andrew M., 2003. "Inequalities in self-reported health: validation of a new approach to measurement," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 61-87, January.
    10. Wildman, John, 2003. "Income related inequalities in mental health in Great Britain: analysing the causes of health inequality over time," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 295-312, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joan Costa-Font & Joan Gil, 2008. "Would Socio-Economic Inequalities in Depression Fade Away with Income Transfers?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 539-558, December.
    2. Toni Mora, 2008. "The relevance of satisfaction with coverage for health care utilization: evidence from Catalonia," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 184(1), pages 99-116, April.
    3. Pilar García Gómez & Angel López Nicolás, 2006. "Health shocks, employment and income in the Spanish labour market," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(9), pages 997-1009, September.
    4. Heckley, Gawain & Gerdtham, Ulf-G. & Kjellsson, Gustav, 2016. "A general method for decomposing the causes of socioeconomic inequality in health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 89-106.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health inequalities; decomposition analysis; mental health; Spain.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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