Health Inequality and Economic Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

Nicolò Russo, Rory McGee, Mariacristina De Nardi, Margherita Borella and Ross Abram

No 32971, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: How large is health inequality in middle age, and how does it shape future economic disparities by race, ethnicity, and gender? Using the Health and Retirement Study, we document large health disparities at midlife. At age 55, Black men and women exhibit frailty levels, or biological age, comparable to those of White individuals 13 and 20 years older, respectively, while Hispanic men and women display frailty similar to that of White individuals 5 and 6 years older. Counterfactual equalization of health at age 55 reduces subsequent disparities in key economic and health outcomes by 40– 70%. These results highlight the central role of midlife health in generating later-life inequality and suggest that policies improving health before age 55, particularly for disadvantaged groups, may substantially narrow disparities at later ages.

JEL-codes: D1 D10 H4 I14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age and nep-dem
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Related works:
Working Paper: Health Inequality and Economic Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender (2024)
Working Paper: Health inequality and economic disparities by race, ethnicity, and gender (2024)
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