title: Wage differences according to health status in France.
abstract: Many OECD countries have implemented anti-discrimination laws in recent decades. However, according to the annual report published in 2010 by the French High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination and for Equality, the second most commonly cited factor in discrimination claims since 2005 is a handicap or health status. The aim of this research is to estimate the level of unexplained components in the wage gap that can be attributed to wage discrimination based on health status in France in 2010 utilizing data from the Health, Healthcare and Insurance survey among 1594 individuals. Three health indicators are used: self-perceived health status, activity limitations and long-term chronic illness. To measure the wage gap according to an individual's health status, the analysis considers the endogenous selection of health status and unobserved differences in productivity. The results demonstrate that wage discrimination is experienced by individuals in poor health regardless of the health indicator utilized. The hourly wage rate among individuals with poor self-assessed health status is on average 14.2% lower than among individuals with good self-assessed health status. However, for individuals suffering from a long-term chronic illness or an activity limitation, the gap is 6.3% and 4.5%, respectively. The decomposition performed on wage differences according to health status by correcting for health status selection bias and controlling for unobserved differences in productivity indicates that the 'unexplained component' that can be attributed to wage discrimination is equal to 50%.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics, 10 rue Vauvenargues, 75018 Paris, France. Electronic address: benhalima@irdes.fr.
authors.forename: Mohamed Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ben Halima
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics, 10 rue Vauvenargues, 75018 Paris, France. Electronic address: emeline.rococo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rococo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Activity limitations; Discrimination; France; Long-term chronic illness; Self-perceived health status; Unobserved productivity; Wage differential