Income inequality and health: Lessons from a refugee residential assignment program

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Health Economics
Year: 2012
Volume: 31
Issue: 4
Pages: 617-629

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of income inequality on health for a group of particularly disadvantaged individuals: refugees. Our analysis draws on longitudinal hospitalization records coupled with a settlement policy where Swedish authorities assigned newly arrived refugees to their first area of residence. The policy was implemented in a way that provides a source of plausibly random variation in initial location. The results reveal no statistically significant effect of income inequality on the risk of being hospitalized. This finding holds also for most population subgroups and when separating between different types of diagnoses. Our estimates are precise enough to rule out large effects of income inequality on health.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jhecon:v:31:y:2012:i:4:p:617-629
Journal Field
Health
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25