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Income Inequality and Self-Rated Health Status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel

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  • Vincent Hildebrand
  • Philippe Van Kerm

Abstract

We examine the effect of income inequality on individual self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 10 member states of the European Union using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modelling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this topic. We calculate income inequality indices measured at two standard levels of geography (NUTS-0 and NUTS-1) and find consistent evidence that income inequality is negatively related to self-rate health status in the European Union for both men and women. However, despite its statistical significance, the magnitude of the impact on inequality on health is small.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent Hildebrand & Philippe Van Kerm, 2005. "Income Inequality and Self-Rated Health Status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 127, McMaster University.
  • Handle: RePEc:mcm:sedapp:127
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self-rated health; income inequality; European Union; panel data;
    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
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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