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Increasing health inequality in China: An empirical study with ordinal data

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  • Hongliang Wang

    (Nanjing Audit University)

  • Yiwen Yu

    (Nanjing Audit University
    Nanjing Audit University)

Abstract

This paper employs a recently introduced method of income-health matrix to study health inequality in China. The method overcomes the problems associated with ordered self-reported health (SRH) responses when the conventional tools of inequality analysis are used. Applying the new method to the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data, we find that over the study period of thirteen years, health inequality has increased by more than one hundred percent in spite of the multifold increase in average income. We conclude that the most likely explanations for the recent increase in China’s health inequality are: aging population, worsening income inequality and poverty, division between urban and rural, and environment deterioration.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongliang Wang & Yiwen Yu, 2016. "Increasing health inequality in China: An empirical study with ordinal data," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(1), pages 41-61, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:14:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s10888-015-9315-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-015-9315-1
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