An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health
Socioeconomic inequality, or the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient, is arguably one of the most-studied phenomena in health. The gradient in health is apparent in objective and subjective measures, across virtually all countries, and is evident at individual and population levels. There is no long...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pan American Health Organization
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública |
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| Online Access: | http://iris.paho.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/49047 |
| _version_ | 1818508001380663296 |
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| author | Lori J. Curtis |
| author_facet | Lori J. Curtis |
| author_sort | Lori J. Curtis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Socioeconomic inequality, or the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient, is arguably one of the most-studied phenomena in health. The gradient in health is apparent in objective and subjective measures, across virtually all countries, and is evident at individual and population levels. There is no longer much debate over the relationship between SES and health. However, exact causal pathways remain elusive. Advocating for strong policy to reduce or eliminate the SES-health gradient necessitates understanding the causal pathways, from intervention to outcome. While economists are not convinced that there is a clear enough understanding of the causal pathways of the SES-health gradient, they have produced a substantial body of work from which to move forward. The article briefly discusses the theoretical underpinnings used by economists as a basis for the study of the causal pathways for the health gradient. That presentation is followed by a concise overview of some of the evidence that economists have produced. The paper concludes with a discussion of how current economic evidence may be used to help policymakers advocate for interventions to limit the SES gradient in noncommunicable diseases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:25:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02bda05bd1104d9090d6d9505cf7ad45 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1020-4989 1680-5348 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T22:25:53Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | Pan American Health Organization |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública |
| spelling | doaj.art-02bda05bd1104d9090d6d9505cf7ad452022-12-22T01:31:11ZengPan American Health OrganizationRevista Panamericana de Salud Pública1020-49891680-53482018-07-01421710.26633/RPSP.2018.53e53An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in healthLori J. Curtis0Department of Economics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaSocioeconomic inequality, or the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient, is arguably one of the most-studied phenomena in health. The gradient in health is apparent in objective and subjective measures, across virtually all countries, and is evident at individual and population levels. There is no longer much debate over the relationship between SES and health. However, exact causal pathways remain elusive. Advocating for strong policy to reduce or eliminate the SES-health gradient necessitates understanding the causal pathways, from intervention to outcome. While economists are not convinced that there is a clear enough understanding of the causal pathways of the SES-health gradient, they have produced a substantial body of work from which to move forward. The article briefly discusses the theoretical underpinnings used by economists as a basis for the study of the causal pathways for the health gradient. That presentation is followed by a concise overview of some of the evidence that economists have produced. The paper concludes with a discussion of how current economic evidence may be used to help policymakers advocate for interventions to limit the SES gradient in noncommunicable diseases.http://iris.paho.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/49047Health inequalitieseconomics |
| spellingShingle | Lori J. Curtis An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública Health inequalities economics |
| title | An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| title_full | An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| title_fullStr | An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| title_full_unstemmed | An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| title_short | An economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| title_sort | economic perspective on the causal explanations for the socioeconomic inequalities in health |
| topic | Health inequalities economics |
| url | http://iris.paho.org/xmlui/handle/123456789/49047 |
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