title: Comparison of two approaches for measuring household wealth via an asset-based index in rural and peri-urban settings of Hunan province, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are growing concerns regarding inequities in health, with poverty being an important determinant of health as well as a product of health status. Within the People's Republic of China (P.R. China), disparities in socio-economic position are apparent, with the rural-urban gap of particular concern. Our aim was to compare direct and proxy methods of estimating household wealth in a rural and a peri-urban setting of Hunan province, P.R. China.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected data on ownership of household durable assets, housing characteristics, and utility and sanitation variables in two village-wide surveys in Hunan province. We employed principal components analysis (PCA) and principal axis factoring (PAF) to generate household asset-based proxy wealth indices. Households were grouped into quartiles, from 'most wealthy' to 'most poor'. We compared the estimated household wealth for each approach. Asset-based proxy wealth indices were compared to those based on self-reported average annual income and savings at the household level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed that PCA and PAF yielded similar results, indicating that either approach may be used for estimating household wealth. In both settings investigated, the two indices were significantly associated with self-reported average annual income and combined income and savings, but not with savings alone. However, low correlation coefficients between the proxy and direct measures of wealth indicated that they are not complementary. We found wide disparities in ownership of household durable assets, and utility and sanitation variables, within and between settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCA and PAF yielded almost identical results and generated robust proxy wealth indices and categories. Pooled data from the rural and peri-urban settings highlighted structural differences in wealth, most likely a result of localized urbanization and modernization. Further research is needed to improve measurements of wealth in low-income and transitional country contexts.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Institute of Medical Research, P,O, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane 4029, Queensland, Australia. julie.balen@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balen
authors.forename: Donald P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: Yue-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zheng-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Utzinger
authors.forename: Gail M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mao-Yuan
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Zong-Chuan
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raso
references.citation: Acta Trop. 1997 Oct 14;68(1):77-91
references.pmid: 9352004
references.citation: Int J Equity Health. 2010 Apr 09;9:10
references.pmid: 20380713
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 Oct;61(8):1795-808
references.pmid: 16029777
references.citation: Demography. 2001 Feb;38(1):115-32
references.pmid: 11227840
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 1991;33(5):545-57
references.pmid: 1962226
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 1993 Apr;36(8):1087-97
references.pmid: 8475425
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1994 Jan;49(1):15-24
references.pmid: 8122813
references.citation: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006 Oct;60(10):896-901
references.pmid: 16973539
references.citation: Health Econ. 2006 Mar;15(3):263-79
references.pmid: 16259049
references.citation: Biometrics. 1977 Mar;33(1):159-74
references.pmid: 843571
references.citation: Int J Equity Health. 2003 Oct 9;2(1):8
references.pmid: 14609435
references.citation: Health Policy Plan. 2006 Nov;21(6):459-68
references.pmid: 17030551
references.citation: Health Econ. 2006 Jun;15(6):639-44
references.pmid: 16416405
references.citation: Lancet. 2003 Feb 15;361(9357):561-6
references.pmid: 12598141
references.citation: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2001 Oct;55(10):693-700
references.pmid: 11553651
references.citation: Demography. 2000 May;37(2):155-74
references.pmid: 10836174
references.citation: Popul Stud (Camb). 2002 Jan;56(1):81-96
references.pmid: 22010844
references.citation: Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2007 Jun 01;4:4
references.pmid: 17543098
references.citation: Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2008 Jan 30;5:3
references.pmid: 18234082