Socioeconomic Status and Morbidity Rate Inequality in China: Based on NHSS and CHARLS Data

Yunyun Jiang, Haitao Zheng and Tianhao Zhao
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Yunyun Jiang: School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Haitao Zheng: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
Tianhao Zhao: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: Previous studies have shown there are no consistent and robust associations between socioeconomic status and morbidity rates. This study focuses on the relationship between the socioeconomic status and the morbidity rates in China, which helps to add new evidence for the fragmentary relationship between socioeconomic status and morbidity rates. The National Health Services Survey (NHSS) and China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data are used to examine whether the association holds in both all-age cohorts and in older only cohorts. Three morbidity outcomes (two-week incidence rate, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and the number of sick days per thousand people) and two socioeconomic status indicators (income and education) are mainly examined. The results indicate that there are quadratic relationships between income per capita and morbidities. This non-linear correlation is similar to the patterns in European countries. Meanwhile, there is no association between education years and the morbidity in China, i.e., either two-week incidence rate or prevalence rate of chronic diseases has no statistically significant relationship with the education level in China.

Keywords: socioeconomic Status; two-week incidence rate; number of sick days per thousand people; prevalence of chronic diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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