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 subsequent economic disparities by race, ethnicity, and gender? Using the Health and Retirement Study, we document severe health disparities. At age 55, Black men and women exhibit the frailty levels, or the biological age, of White individuals 13 and 20 years older. Hispanic men and women show comparable frailty to White individuals 5 and 6 years older. Equalizing health at age 55 would reduce future disparities in many key economic outcomes by 40-70%. This suggests that targeted earlier health interventions for minorities could significantly narrow economic and quality-of-life inequalities in middle and old age.

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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