title: On the reliability of self-reported health: evidence from Albanian data.
abstract: This paper investigates the reliability of self-assessed measures of health using panel data collected in Albania by the World Bank in 2002, 2003 and 2004 through the Living Standard Measurement Study project. As the survey includes questions on a self-assessed measure of health and on more objective health problems, both types of information are combined with a view to understanding how respondents change their answers to the self-reported measures over time. Estimates from random effects ordered Probit models show that differences in self-reported subjective health between individuals are much more marked than those over time, suggesting a strong state dependence in subjective health status. The empirical analysis also reveals respondent consistency, from both a subjective and an objective viewpoint. Self-reported health is much more influenced by permanent shocks than by more transitory illness or injury.
authors.affiliation: LEM (UMR 8179 CNRS), Université Catholique de Lille (FLSEG, Centre de Recherche sur le Capital Humain) and Institut des Stratégies et Techniques de Communication, 58, rue du port / 59016 Lille cedex, France. nicolas.vaillant@icl-lille.fr
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vaillant
authors.forename: François-Charles
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Wolff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000415:Albania / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Albania; Random effects ordered Probit; Self-reported health