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Health Improvements and Health Inequality during the Last 40 Years

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  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia
  • Leonardo Menchini

Abstract

This paper juxtaposes changes over the last forty years in income growth and distribution with the mortality changes recorded at the aggregate level in about 170 countries and at the individual level in 26 countries with at least two demographic and health surveys covering the last twenty years. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the infant mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, and life expectancy at birth mostly continued the favourable trends that characterized the 1960s and 1970s. Yet, especially in the 1990s, the pace of health improvement was slower than that recorded during the prior decades.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Leonardo Menchini, 2006. "Health Improvements and Health Inequality during the Last 40 Years," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-10, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:rp2006-10
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/rp2006-10.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2018. "Well-being Inequality in the Long Run," Working Papers 0131, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    2. Molini, Vasco & Nubé, Maarten & van den Boom, Bart, 2010. "Adult BMI as a Health and Nutritional Inequality Measure: Applications at Macro and Micro Levels," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1012-1023, July.
    3. Lisa Chauvet & Flore Gubert & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, 2009. "Are Remittances More Effective Than Aid To Reduce Child Mortality? An Empirical Assessment using Inter and Intra-Country Data," Working Papers DT/2009/11, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    4. Leandro Prados de la Escosura, 2023. "Inequality Beyond GDP: A Long View," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 533-554, September.
    5. Giovanni Andrea Cornia, 2023. "Inequality and capabilities in an era of rising instability," Working Papers - Economics wp2023_05.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    6. Smits, Jeroen & Monden, Christiaan, 2009. "Length of life inequality around the globe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1114-1123, March.
    7. Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Rosignoli, Stefano & Tiberti, Luca, 2007. "Globalisation and health: impact pathways and recent evidence," Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, Working Paper Series qt2358z815, Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, UC Santa Cruz.
    8. Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Stefano Rosignoli & Luca Tiberti, 2011. "The Impact of the Food and Financial Crises on Child Mortality: The case of sub-Saharan Africa," Papers inwopa633, Innocenti Working Papers.
    9. Shawn F. Dorius, 2008. "Global Demographic Convergence? A Reconsideration of Changing Intercountry Inequality in Fertility," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(3), pages 519-537, September.

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