INCOME-RELATED INEQUALITIES IN HEALTH - SOME INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

This paper presents evidence on income-related inequalities in self-as sessed health in nine industrialized countries. Health interview surve y data were used to construct concentration curves of self-assessed he alth, measured as a latent variable. Inequalities in health favoured t he higher income groups and were statistically significant in all coun tries. Inequalities were particularly high in the United States and th e United Kingdom. Amongst other European countries, Sweden, Finland an d the former East Germany had the lowest inequality. Across countries, a strong association was found between inequalities in health and ine qualities in income. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.