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Testing for an economic gradient in health status using subjective data

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  • Michael Lokshin
  • Martin Ravallion

Abstract

Can self‐assessments of health reveal the true health differentials between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’? The potential sources of bias include psychological adaptation to ill‐health, socioeconomic covariates of health reporting errors and income measurement errors. We propose an estimation method to reduce the bias by isolating the component of self‐assessed health that is explicable in terms of objective health indicators and allowing for broader dimensions of economic welfare than captured by current incomes. On applying our method to survey data for Russia we find a pronounced (nonlinear) economic gradient in health status that is not evident in the raw data. This is largely attributable to the health effects of age, education and location. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Michael Lokshin & Martin Ravallion, 2008. "Testing for an economic gradient in health status using subjective data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(11), pages 1237-1259, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:17:y:2008:i:11:p:1237-1259
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.1318
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    Cited by:

    1. Valerii Baidin & Christopher J. Gerry & Maria Kaneva, 2021. "How Self-Rated is Self-Rated Health? Exploring the Role of Individual and Institutional Factors in Reporting Heterogeneity in Russia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 675-696, June.
    2. Baron-Epel, Orna & Kaplan, Giora, 2009. "Can subjective and objective socioeconomic status explain minority health disparities in Israel?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1460-1467, November.
    3. Koen Decancq & María Ana Lugo, 2009. "Measuring inequality of well-being with a correlation-sensitive multidimensional Gini index," Working Papers 124, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Koen Decancq, 2014. "Copula-based measurement of dependence between dimensions of well-being," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 681-701.
    5. Raskina, Yulia & Podkorytova, Olga & Kuchakov, Ruslan, 2022. "Health determinants and the reporting heterogeneity bias in Russia: Anchoring vignettes approach," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 66, pages 118-143.
    6. Jishnu Das & Quy-Toan Do & Jed Friedman & David McKenzie, 2008. "Mental Health Patterns and Consequences: Results from Survey Data in Five Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 23(1), pages 31-55, August.
    7. Kiendrebeogo,Youssouf & Ianchovichina,Elena & Kiendrebeogo,Youssouf & Ianchovichina,Elena, 2016. "Who supports violent extremism in developing countries ? analysis of attitudes based on value surveys," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7691, The World Bank.
    8. Ravallion, Martin & Himelein, Kristen & Beegle, Kathleen, 2013. "Can subjective questions on economic welfare be trusted ? evidence for three developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6726, The World Bank.
    9. Raj Arunachalam & Manisha Shah, 2013. "Compensated for Life: Sex Work and Disease Risk," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(2), pages 345-369.
    10. Kaneva, Maria & Baidin, Valerii, 2018. "Heterogeneity in reporting self-assessed health of the Russians," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 51, pages 102-125.
    11. M. A. Kaneva, 2021. "Health Capital Estimates for Russian Regions in 2004–2018," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 524-532, October.
    12. ZHAO, Guochang, 2015. "Can money ‘buy’ schooling achievement? Evidence from 19 Chinese cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 83-104.
    13. Ravallion, Martin, 2012. "Poor, or just feeling poor ? on using subjective data in measuring poverty," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5968, The World Bank.
    14. M. A. Kaneva, 2023. "Determinants of Economic Growth in Regions with Different COVID-19 Incidence Rates," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 296-304, June.
    15. Christopher J. Gerry & Georgios Papadopoulos, 2015. "Sample attrition in the RLMS, 2001–10," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 23(2), pages 425-468, April.
    16. Ren Mu, 2014. "Regional Disparities In Self‐Reported Health: Evidence From Chinese Older Adults," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(5), pages 529-549, May.

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