IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v253y2020ics0277953620301647.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health in two East Asian countries: Comparative study between Japan and Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Kino, Shiho
  • Jang, Soong-nang
  • Takahashi, Shuko
  • Ebner, Daniel K.
  • Kawachi, Ichiro

Abstract

Although Japan and South Korea share a number of commonalities, social security systems are very different. We opt to compare socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health between these two countries. The analytic sample included those aged 20 years and older from the nationally representative surveys in Japan (Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions) and South Korea (Korean Community Health Survey). As socioeconomic status, we used income (quintiles of equivalized annual household income) and education (five categories). We measured socioeconomic inequalities using two indices; the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and the Relative Index of Inequality (RII), in each age group for each country. In Japan, we found relatively little evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health over the life course, on either the absolute or relative scale. In Korea, the absolute inequality assessed by SII of self-rated poor health was higher in middle and old age groups compared to other age groups, while relative inequality measured by RII was significantly higher in younger ages. In Japan with more generous welfare system to the older generations, health inequality was relatively lower compared to Korea. The gaps in health status for Korean people suggest where social policy might direct their efforts in the future - (a) reducing inequalities in working-age people by addressing the gap between standard workers & non-standard workers; and (b) improving the financial conditions of older people by shoring up the social security system.

Suggested Citation

  • Kino, Shiho & Jang, Soong-nang & Takahashi, Shuko & Ebner, Daniel K. & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2020. "Socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health in two East Asian countries: Comparative study between Japan and Korea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:253:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620301647
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112945
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953620301647
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112945?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Duncan, G.J. & Daly, M.C. & McDonough, P. & Williams, D.R., 2002. "Optimal indicators of socioeconomic status for health research," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(7), pages 1151-1157.
    2. Francesca Borgonovi & Artur Pokropek, 2016. "Education and Self-Reported Health: Evidence from 23 Countries on the Role of Years of Schooling, Cognitive Skills and Social Capital," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, February.
    3. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10510 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Akihiro Nishi & Ichiro Kawachi & Kokoro Shirai & Hiroshi Hirai & Seungwon Jeong & Katsunori Kondo, 2012. "Sex/Gender and Socioeconomic Differences in the Predictive Ability of Self-Rated Health for Mortality," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, January.
    5. Kagamimori, Sadanobu & Gaina, Alexandru & Nasermoaddeli, Ali, 2009. "Socioeconomic status and health in the Japanese population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2152-2160, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Park, Gum-Ryeong & Grignon, Michel & Young, Marisa & Dunn, James R., 2022. "How do housing asset and income relate to mortality? A population-based cohort study of 881220 older adults in Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    2. Chiao-Lee Chu & Nozuko Lawana, 2021. "Decomposition of income-related inequality in health check-ups services participation among elderly individuals across the 2008 financial crisis in Taiwan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-14, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hiyoshi, Ayako & Fukuda, Yoshiharu & Shipley, Martin J. & Brunner, Eric J., 2014. "Health inequalities in Japan: The role of material, psychosocial, social relational and behavioural factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 201-209.
    2. Asami Ota & Naoki Kondo & Nobuko Murayama & Naohito Tanabe & Yugo Shobugawa & Katsunori Kondo & Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) group, 2016. "Serum Albumin Levels and Economic Status in Japanese Older Adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Yosuke Kasai & Etsuji Suzuki & Toshihide Iwase & Hiroyuki Doi & Soshi Takao, 2013. "Type D Personality Is Associated with Psychological Distress and Poor Self-Rated Health among the Elderly: A Population-Based Study in Japan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(10), pages 1-7, October.
    4. Duncan Gillespie & Meredith Trotter & Shripad Tuljapurkar, 2014. "Divergence in Age Patterns of Mortality Change Drives International Divergence in Lifespan Inequality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 1003-1017, June.
    5. Theodossiou, I. & Zangelidis, A., 2009. "The social gradient in health: The effect of absolute income and subjective social status assessment on the individual's health in Europe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 229-237, July.
    6. Jane K L Teh & Nai Peng Tey & Sor Tho Ng, 2014. "Ethnic and Gender Differentials in Non-Communicable Diseases and Self-Rated Health in Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-8, March.
    7. Terje A Eikemo & Rasmus Hoffmann & Margarete C Kulik & Ivana Kulhánová & Marlen Toch-Marquardt & Gwenn Menvielle & Caspar Looman & Domantas Jasilionis & Pekka Martikainen & Olle Lundberg & Johan P Mac, 2014. "How Can Inequalities in Mortality Be Reduced? A Quantitative Analysis of 6 Risk Factors in 21 European Populations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-1, November.
    8. John P. Martin, 2018. "Skills for the 21st Century: Findings and Policy Lessons from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills," Working Papers 201803, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    9. Klara Gurzo & Bitte Modin & Pekka Martikainen & Olof Östergren, 2022. "Pathways from Childhood Economic Conditions to Adult Mortality in a 1953 Stockholm Cohort: The Intermediate Role of Personal Attributes and Socioeconomic Career," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Alaina N. English & Jennifer A. Bellingtier & Shevaun D. Neupert, 2019. "It’s “the Joneses”: the influence of objective and subjective socioeconomic status on subjective perceptions of aging," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 121-128, March.
    11. Wolfe, Joseph D. & Thomeer, Mieke Beth & Reczek, Rin, 2023. "Age at first birth and women's midlife health: Cohort and race differences across the 20th century," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    12. Garbarski, Dana, 2010. "Perceived social position and health: Is there a reciprocal relationship?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 692-699, March.
    13. Takaku, Reo, 2020. "Reversal pattern of health inequality: New evidence from a large-scale national survey in Japan," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(11), pages 1254-1262.
    14. Prus, Steven G., 2011. "Comparing social determinants of self-rated health across the United States and Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 50-59, July.
    15. Cunningham, Colleen M. & Hanley, Gillian E. & Morgan, Steve, 2010. "Patterns in the use of benzodiazepines in British Columbia: Examining the impact of increasing research and guideline cautions against long-term use," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(2-3), pages 122-129, October.
    16. Cleon Tsimbos, 2010. "An assessment of socio-economic inequalities in health among elderly in Greece, Italy and Spain," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 55(1), pages 5-15, February.
    17. Smith, Kimberly V. & Goldman, Noreen, 2007. "Socioeconomic differences in health among older adults in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(7), pages 1372-1385, October.
    18. Naz Onel & Avinandan Mukherjee, 2014. "The effects of national culture and human development on environmental health," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 79-101, February.
    19. Seabright, Paul & Mesnard, Alice, 2008. "Migration and The Equilibrium Prevalence of Infectious Diseases," CEPR Discussion Papers 6651, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Sharon Hadad & Yossi Hadad & Tzahit Simon-Tuval, 2013. "Determinants of healthcare system’s efficiency in OECD countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(2), pages 253-265, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:253:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620301647. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.