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Avoiding Blindness to Health Status in Health Achievement and Health Inequality Measurement

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Abstract

This paper argues that health transfers from an individual at a lower rank in the health distribution to a person at a higher rank may decrease the concentration index if the former has a slightly higher income. The concentration index, being mainly focused on the socioeconomic dimension of health inequality, can produce such counter-intuitive results that overlooks the pure health inequality aversion of the planner. Building on Atkinson (1970), Yitzhaki (1983) and Wagstaff (2002), this paper presents a simple new class of health achievement and health inequality indices that overcomes the above mentioned problem.

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  • Paul Makdissi & Myra Yazbeck, 2015. "Avoiding Blindness to Health Status in Health Achievement and Health Inequality Measurement," Discussion Papers Series 542, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    • Handle: RePEc:qld:uq2004:542
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    1. repec:adr:anecst:y:2006:i:83-84 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Khaled, Mohamad A. & Makdissi, Paul & Yazbeck, Myra, 2018. "Income-related health transfers principles and orderings of joint distributions of income and health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 315-331.
    2. Gustav Kjellsson & Dennis Petrie & Tom (T.G.M.) van Ourti, 2018. "Measuring income-related inequalities in risky health prospects," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-007/V, Tinbergen Institute.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health inequality; Health Achievement;

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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