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Some microeconometric evidence on the relationship between health and income

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  • Amélie Adeline

    (THEMA, University of Cergy-Pontoise)

  • Eric Delattre

    (THEMA, University of Cergy-Pontoise)

Abstract

This paper examines the association between income, income inequalities and health inequalities in Europe. The contribution of this paper is to study different hypotheses linking self-perceived health status and income, allowing for the identification of different mechanisms in income-related health inequalities. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (15 countries), we take the advantage of the cross-sectional and longitudinal nature of this rich database to make robust results. The analyses (coefficient estimates as well as average marginal effects) strongly support two hypotheses by showing that (i) income has a positive and concave effect on health (Absolute Income Hypothesis); (ii) income inequalities in a country affect all members in a society (strong version of the Income Inequality Hypothesis). However, our study suggests that, when considering the position of the individual in the income distribution, as well as the interaction between income inequalities and these rankings, one cannot identify individuals the most affected by income inequalities (which should be the least well-off in a society according to the weak version of the Income Inequality Hypothesis). Finally, the robustness of this study is emphasized when implementing a generalized ordered probit to consider the subjective nature of the self-perceived health status to avoid the traps encountered in previous studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Amélie Adeline & Eric Delattre, 2017. "Some microeconometric evidence on the relationship between health and income," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:hecrev:v:7:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1186_s13561-017-0163-5
    DOI: 10.1186/s13561-017-0163-5
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    Cited by:

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    2. Chubarova, T., 2020. "Income and consumption of medical care through the lens of protected goods' approach," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 190-196.
    3. Amaya Erro-Garcés & Maria Elena Aramendia-Muneta & María Errea & Juan M. Cabases-Hita, 2022. "Perceived Health and Earnings: Evidence from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Peng Nie & Qing Li & Alan A. Cohen & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2021. "In search of China’s income-health gradient: a biomarker-based analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(48), pages 5599-5618, October.
    5. Breunig, Christoph & Haan, Peter, 2021. "Nonparametric regression with selectively missing covariates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 223(1), pages 28-52.
    6. Christoph Breunig & Peter Haan, 2018. "Nonparametric Regression with Selectively Missing Covariates," Papers 1810.00411, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2020.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health inequalities; Income inequalities; Self-reported health; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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