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Does income‐related health inequality change as the population ages? Evidence from Swedish panel data

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  • M. Kamrul Islam
  • Ulf‐G. Gerdtham
  • Philip Clarke
  • Kristina Burström

Abstract

This paper explains and empirically assesses the channels through which population aging may impact on income‐related health inequality. Long panel data of Swedish individuals is used to estimate the observed trend in income‐related health inequality, measured by the concentration index (CI). A decomposition procedure based on a fixed effects model is used to clarify the channels by which population aging affects health inequality. Based on current income rankings, we find that conventional unstandardized and age–gender‐standardized CIs increase over time. This trend in CIs is, however, found to remain stable when people are instead ranked according to lifetime (mean) income. Decomposition analyses show that two channels are responsible for the upward trend in unstandardized CIs – retired people dropped in relative income ranking and the coefficient of variation of health increases as the population ages. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • M. Kamrul Islam & Ulf‐G. Gerdtham & Philip Clarke & Kristina Burström, 2010. "Does income‐related health inequality change as the population ages? Evidence from Swedish panel data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(3), pages 334-349, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:19:y:2010:i:3:p:334-349
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.1479
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    2. Petrie, Dennis & Allanson, Paul & Gerdtham, Ulf-G., 2011. "Accounting for the dead in the longitudinal analysis of income-related health inequalities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1113-1123.
    3. Nordin, Martin & Dackehag, Margareta & Gerdtham, Ulf-G., 2013. "Socioeconomic inequalities in drug utilization for Sweden: Evidence from linked survey and register data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 106-117.
    4. Simon Appleton & Jinying Huang & Xuyan Lou & Minghai Zhou, 2024. "Money and mental health: The impact of intergenerational transfers on elderly people in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(11), pages 2645-2670, November.
    5. Joan Costa-Font & Cristina Hernandez-Quevedo & Azusa Sato, 2018. "A Health ‘Kuznets’ Curve’? Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence on Concentration Indices’," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 439-452, April.
    6. Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Lundborg, Petter & Lyttkens, Carl Hampus & Nystedt, Paul, 2012. "Do Socioeconomic Factors Really Explain Income-Related Inequalities in Health? Applying a Twin Design to Standard Decomposition Analysis," Working Papers 2012:21, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    7. Mosquera, Paola A. & San Sebastian, Miguel & Waenerlund, Anna-Karin & Ivarsson, Anneli & Weinehall, Lars & Gustafsson, Per E., 2016. "Income-related inequalities in cardiovascular disease from mid-life to old age in a Northern Swedish cohort: A decomposition analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 135-144.
    8. Guillem López i Casasnovas & Marina Soley Bori, 2012. "The Economic Crisis and it Effects on the Social Determinants of Health," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 201(2), pages 113-132, June.
    9. Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir & Hildur Margrét Jóhannsdóttir, 2017. "Income-related inequalities in diseases and health conditions over the business cycle," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Noël Bonneuil, 2019. "Health Component of Inequalities Associated with Income Mobility Over the Life Cycle," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 391-411, January.
    11. Calara, Paul Samuel & Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Petrie, Dennis, 2016. "The Dynamics of Income-Related Health Inequalities in Australia versus Great Britain," Working Papers 2016:20, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    12. Martin Siegel & Markus Luengen & Stephanie Stock, 2013. "On age-specific variations in income-related inequalities in diabetes, hypertension and obesity," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(1), pages 33-41, February.
    13. Mototsugu Fukushige & Noriko Ishikawa & Satoko Maekawa, 2012. "A modified Kakwani measure for health inequality," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, December.

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