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Wealth and health in South Africa

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  • Julien Albertini

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Anthony Terriau

    (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the impact of wealth on health in South Africa using the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS). We estimate a two-stage probit model with inheritance as an instrumental variable for wealth. We find no significant effect of wealth on health at the individual level, consistent with most of the results found for developed countries. Alternative specifications to the health outcomes (self-reported health versus reported diseases) as well as the introduction of gifts as an additional instrumental variable delivers similar results. In addition, we decompose wealth into liquid and illiquid wealth. Despite the health effect being higher for liquid than for non-liquid wealth, none of these measures involve substantial or significant effects on health.

Suggested Citation

  • Julien Albertini & Anthony Terriau, 2019. "Wealth and health in South Africa," Working Papers halshs-02073800, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-02073800
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02073800
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wealth; Health; Inheritance; South Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

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