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Health Insurance and Height Inequality: Evidence from European Health Insurance Expansions

Author

Listed:
  • Baten, Jörg
  • Batinti, Alberto
  • Costa-i-Font, Joan
  • Radatz, Laura

Abstract

Health insurance expansions can improve health outcomes through greater access to healthcare. This is truer among the poorer segments of the population, which otherwise could not afford healthcare costs, or might lack the information about where to seek proper health cures and interventions. In this paper we examine whether expanded access to health insurance historically reduced height inequality by promoting body growth, especially across the poorer individuals, and so improved their height, a widely used and well-established anthropometric measure of health and well-being. We draw our evidence using a panel of countries for which we could measure height inequality; our evidence suggests that indeed within-country height inequality declined after insurance expansions towards near-universal coverage.

Suggested Citation

  • Baten, Jörg & Batinti, Alberto & Costa-i-Font, Joan & Radatz, Laura, 2023. "Health Insurance and Height Inequality: Evidence from European Health Insurance Expansions," CEPR Discussion Papers 18680, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:18680
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Batinti, Alberto & Costa-Font, Joan & Shandar, Vasuprada, 2025. "The survival of the royals," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 128983, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Jung, Sophia & Baten, Jörg, 2025. "Gender equality in Asia and Europe during the 20th century: The role of socialism," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 490-510.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

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