Inequality aversion, health inequalities and health achievement.
This paper addresses two issues. The first is how health inequalities can be measured in such a way as to take into account policymakers' attitudes towards inequality. The Gini coefficient and the related concentration index embody one particular set of value judgements. By generalising these indices, alternative sets of value judgements can be reflected. The other issue addressed is how information on health inequality can be used together with information on the mean of the relevant distribution to obtain an overall measure of health "achievement".
Wagstaff
Adam
A
Development Research Group and Human Development Network, The World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA. awagstaff@worldbank.org
D000328:Adult; D001723:Birth Rate; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D004989:Ethics; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006291:Health Policy; D006302:Health Services Research; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007600:Judgment; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011050:Policy Making; D012945:Social Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors