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Understanding The Vertical Equity Judgements Underpinning Health Inequality Measures

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  • Paul Allanson
  • Dennis Petrie

Abstract

The choice of income‐related health inequality measures in comparative studies is often determined by custom and analytical concerns, without much explicit consideration of the vertical equity judgements underlying alternative measures. This note employs an inequality map to illustrate how these judgements determine the ranking of populations by health inequality. In particular, it is shown that relative indices of inequality in health attainments and shortfalls embody distinct vertical equity judgments, where each may represent ethically defensible positions in specific contexts. Further research is needed to explore people's preferences over distributions of income and health. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Allanson & Dennis Petrie, 2014. "Understanding The Vertical Equity Judgements Underpinning Health Inequality Measures," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(11), pages 1390-1396, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:23:y:2014:i:11:p:1390-1396
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.2984
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Claudio Zoli, 2012. "Characterizing Inequality Equivalence Criteria," Working Papers 32/2012, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bénédicte H. Apouey & Jacques Silber, 2016. "Performance and Inequality in Health: A Comparison of Child and Maternal Health across Asia," Research on Economic Inequality, in: John A. Bishop & Juan Gabriel Rodríguez (ed.),Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting, volume 24, pages 181-214, Emerald Publishing Ltd.
    2. Gerdtham, Ulf-G. & Heckley, Gawain & Lissdaniels, Johannes, 2020. "Estimating the Causal Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on Income-Related Mortality," Working Papers 2020:22, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    3. Martin Siegel & Andreas Mielck & Werner Maier, 2015. "Individual Income, Area Deprivation, and Health: Do Income‐Related Health Inequalities Vary by Small Area Deprivation?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(11), pages 1523-1530, November.
    4. Satya R. Chakravarty & Nachiketa Chattopadhyay & Conchita D'Ambrosio, 2016. "On a Family of Achievement and Shortfall Inequality Indices," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(12), pages 1503-1513, December.
    5. Kjellsson, Gustav & Gerdtham, Ulf-G., 2013. "Lost in Translation: Rethinking the Inequality-Equivalence Criteria for Bounded Health Variables," Working Papers 2013:18, Lund University, Department of Economics, revised 02 Jan 2014.
    6. Mosquera, Paola A. & San Sebastian, Miguel & Waenerlund, Anna-Karin & Ivarsson, Anneli & Weinehall, Lars & Gustafsson, Per E., 2016. "Income-related inequalities in cardiovascular disease from mid-life to old age in a Northern Swedish cohort: A decomposition analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 135-144.
    7. Dennis Petrie & Kam Tang & D. Rao, 2015. "Measuring Health Inequality with Realization of Conditional Potential Life Years (RCPLY)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 21-44, May.
    8. Calara, Paul Samuel & Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Petrie, Dennis, 2016. "The Dynamics of Income-Related Health Inequalities in Australia versus Great Britain," Working Papers 2016:20, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    9. Kristof Bosmans, 2016. "Consistent Comparisons of Attainment and Shortfall Inequality: A Critical Examination," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(11), pages 1425-1432, November.
    10. Heckley, Gawain & Gerdtham, Ulf-G. & Kjellsson, Gustav, 2016. "A general method for decomposing the causes of socioeconomic inequality in health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 89-106.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D39 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Other
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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