Some observations on health status and economic status

摘要

The links between various measures of socio-economic status (SES) and the health of elderly individuals have attracted research attention in economics and many other fields. The study by Adams et al. (2003) offers an interesting new perspective on these links, and it raises a number of new issues. It exploits panel data, in contrast to previous studies that have relied on cross-section data to study the correlation between SES and health. Repeated observations on the same individuals make it possible to develop more refined tests than those in past studies. With panel data, it is possible to study how economic circumstances are related to disease onset. This seems like a more revealing question than the point-in-time correlation between SES and health status. The paper recognizes that there may be multiple links between health status and economic status, and much of the analysis is directed at exploring possible causal paths and considering the meaning of causality. The paper investigates how income, wealth, and other socioeeonomic conditions are associated with the onset of various health conditions.