Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia

Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract: In this paper we measure the degree of income related inequality in mental health as measured by the GHQ instrument and general health as measured by the EQOL-5D instrument for the Catalan population. We find that income is the main contributor to inequality, although the share of inequality in mental health that can be explained by income is much greater than the corresponding share of inequality in general health. We also find that the variation in demographic structure reduces income related inequality in mental health but increases income related inequality in general health. The regional variations in both instruments for health are striking, with the Barcelona districts faring relatively bad with respect to the rest of geographical areas and Lleida being the health region where, all else held equal, the population reports the greatest level of health. A big share of inequality in the two health measures, but specially mental health, is due to the favourable position in both health and income of those who enjoy an indefinite contract with respect to the rest of individuals. We also find that risky working conditions affect both health measures and are able to explain an important share of socio-economic inequality.

Keywords: Health inequalities; decomposition analysis; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 D63 I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-03, Revised 2005-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia (2005)
Working Paper: Socio-economic inequalities in health in Catalonia (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:upf:upfgen:758

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