Health Inequality and Health Insurance Coverage: The United States and China Compared

Joan Costa-Font, Frank A. Cowell () and Xuezhu Shi
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Frank A. Cowell: London School of Economics

No 16629, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study inequality in the distribution of self-assessed health (SAH) in the United States and China, two large countries that have expanded their insurance provisions in recent decades, but that lack universal coverage and differ in other social determinants of health. Using comparable health survey data from China and the United States, we compare health inequality trends throughout the period covering the public health insurance coverage expansions in the two countries. We find that whether SAH inequality is greater in the US or in China depends on the concept of status and the inequality-sensitivity parameter used; however, the regional pattern of SAH inequality is clearly associated with health-insurance coverage expansions in the US but not significant in China.

Keywords: health insurance coverage; self-assessed health; health inequality; social determinants of health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 I18 I3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 58 pages
Date: 2023-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-hea and nep-ltv
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Published - published in: Economics and Human Biology , 2024, 52, 101346

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Related works:
Journal Article: Health inequality and health insurance coverage: The United States and China compared (2024)
Working Paper: Health Inequality and Health Insurance Coverage: The United States and China Compared (2023)
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