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Measuring inequality in the joint distribution of socioeconomic status and health

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  • Kobus, Martyna
  • Kurek, Radosław

Abstract

We propose new methods to measure socioeconomic inequalities in health when health and socioeconomic status are ordinal indicators. We propose dominance ordering and measures that are sensitive not only to between-group heterogeneity (i.e. increased spread), but also to within-group homogeneity (i.e. increased bipolarity). The latter aspect has been missing from the available measurement toolkit and we close this gap. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe we show that accounting for increased bipolarity increases substantially the level of inequality, however, it does not affect the ranking of countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Kobus, Martyna & Kurek, Radosław, 2023. "Measuring inequality in the joint distribution of socioeconomic status and health," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:226:y:2023:i:c:s0165176523001180
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2023.111093
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Socioeconomic inequalities in health; Ordinal data; Polarization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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