Measuring socio-economic inequality in illhealth using permanent income

Abstract

In Belgium, income-related inequality in ill-health seems to favour the rich, meaning that the rich are generally in better health than the poor are. Restricting the analysis to subsamples of the Belgian population, slightly modifies the conclusion, i.e. there is no income-related inequality in ill-health among the 65+. Since it is not clear whether the absence in inequality stems from the limited variation in the income of the 65+ (because of welfare benefits) or whether it truly reflects reality, I did the analysis over again using estimates of permanent income instead of income. It turned out that inequality among the 65+ remained very limited indeed, yet robustness checks pointed to the fragility of the results.