title: Understanding the vertical equity judgements underpinning health inequality measures.
abstract: The choice of income-related health inequality measures in comparative studies is often determined by custom and analytical concerns, without much explicit consideration of the vertical equity judgements underlying alternative measures. This note employs an inequality map to illustrate how these judgements determine the ranking of populations by health inequality. In particular, it is shown that relative indices of inequality in health attainments and shortfalls embody distinct vertical equity judgments, where each may represent ethically defensible positions in specific contexts. Further research is needed to explore people's preferences over distributions of income and health.
authors: University of Dundee.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Allanson
authors: Dennis
authors: D
authors: Petrie
mesh_terms: D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D017059:Models, Econometric; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012923:Social Class
keywords: health inequality; inequality equivalence criterion; inequality maps; vertical equity judgements