Health inequality in the Russian Federation: An examination of the changes in concentration and achievement indices from 1994 to 2013

Pavitra Paul and Hannu Valtonen

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Background: To assess and quantify the magnitude of health inequalities ascribed to socioeconomic strata from 1994 to 2013 in the Russian Federation. Methods: A balanced sample of 1,496 adult individuals extracted from the 1994 wave of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) is followed for stated self-perceived health status until 2013. The socioeconomic strata (SES) index is constructed with a set of variables (adult equivalent household income, ownership of assets and living conditions) by applying principal component analysis (PCA). We use a regression-based concentration index to measure differences in self-perceived health status. Finally, we examine the degree of aversion to inequalities in self-perceived health status between the worse-off and the better-off with the achievement index. Results: By 2013, the mean standardized self-perceived health status has improved by 4.6 % compared to 1994. The absolute size of Concentration Index (CI) for non - standardized self-perceived health status is reduced by 44.27 % from 1994 to 2013. No systematic trend emerges in the evolution of CI for self-perceived health status of the Russians over the 19 year period. However, avoidable inequalities in self-perceived health status of the Russian population is reduced by almost 60 % over the two decades (1994–2013). Conclusion: SES, as defined with objective indicators, shows little consistency in association with self-perceived health status in the Russian Federation. This study highlights the need for future research that considers the context of stated self-perceived health status in the realm of subjective socioeconomic status (SSS).

Keywords: Achievement; Aversion; Concentration; Distributionally-sensitive; Health inequalities; Positive-externality; Self-perceived; Subjective socioeconomic status; Russia. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-08-13, Revised 2016-02-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis and nep-hea
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Published in International Journal for Equity in Health 15.36(2016): pp. 1-11

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