Increasing health inequality in China: An empirical study with ordinal data

Hongliang Wang () and Yiwen Yu ()

The Journal of Economic Inequality, 2016, vol. 14, issue 1, 61 pages

Abstract: This paper employs a recently introduced method of income-health matrix to study health inequality in China. The method overcomes the problems associated with ordered self-reported health (SRH) responses when the conventional tools of inequality analysis are used. Applying the new method to the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data, we find that over the study period of thirteen years, health inequality has increased by more than one hundred percent in spite of the multifold increase in average income. We conclude that the most likely explanations for the recent increase in China’s health inequality are: aging population, worsening income inequality and poverty, division between urban and rural, and environment deterioration. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Keywords: China; Health inequality; Income inequality; Income growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:14:y:2016:i:1:p:41-61

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DOI: 10.1007/s10888-015-9315-1

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