Income Inequality and Health in Rural China
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With the rising income inequality, the effect of income distribution on health and health inequality has aroused ever-increasing concerns. Using CHNS 1997 and 2000 survey data, we attempt to address the following two issues: how could income inequality influence health and does the rising income inequality result in health inequality? We find that the effect of income distribution on health is lagged. There is an "inverted-U" association between income inequality and health in rural China and the detrimental effect occurs in higher inequality areas. A possible reason is that the income inequality has an effect on public health care provision. We also find that the rising income inequality strengthens the income effect, which means the health of the lower-income group is worsening since they are more easily exposed to adverse income shocks.
JOUR
Jin, Feng
Yangyang, Yu
2007
Jingji Yanjiu/Economic Research Journal
42
1
79-88
534