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Indebtedness, Socioeconomic Status, and Self‐Rated Health: Empirical Evidence From Greece

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  • Ilias‐Ioannis Kyriopoulos
  • Dimitris Zavras
  • Antonis Charonis
  • Kostas Athanasakis
  • Elpida Pavi
  • John Kyriopoulos

Abstract

Greece has been facing a massive economic downturn during the last several years, which has several implications for living standards. This study aims to examine the relationship between several variables and self‐rated health (SRH), focusing on the impact of household indebtedness on health. Our empirical strategy is based on an ordered logistic regression in which SRH is the dependent variable, whereas several demographic and socioeconomic variables, as well as the percentage of income used for bill payments, and the frequency of reporting difficulties regarding bill payments are used as regressors. The coefficients of gender, subjective social status (SSS), age, and of the two variables regarding bill payments were statistically significant. Specifically, high‐SES, male, and younger individuals were found to have a higher probability of reporting better SRH in Greece. Moreover, our findings suggest that individuals who pay a high percentage of their income to bills and those who face difficulties to cover the bill expenses have a lower probability of rating their health as good or very good. However, the effect of indebtedness on health constitutes a new finding for the Greek population. Given that household indebtedness and difficult socioeconomic conditions are quite prevalent in Greece, targeted social policy measures could constitute one of the responses toward a looming health crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilias‐Ioannis Kyriopoulos & Dimitris Zavras & Antonis Charonis & Kostas Athanasakis & Elpida Pavi & John Kyriopoulos, 2016. "Indebtedness, Socioeconomic Status, and Self‐Rated Health: Empirical Evidence From Greece," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(4), pages 387-397, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:8:y:2016:i:4:p:387-397
    DOI: 10.1002/pop4.160
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    References listed on IDEAS

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