中国农村的收入差距与健康

随着收入差距的扩大,收入分配对健康和健康不平等的影响日益受到关注。本文利用中国健康营养调查(CHNS)1997年和2000年农村的面板数据回答两个问题:收入差距对健康的影响以及影响健康的方式;收入差距的扩大是否会导致健康不平等的加剧,尤其是低收入人群的健康是否受到更为不利的影响。研究发现,首先收入差距对健康的影响存在滞后效应;其次,收入差距对健康的影响呈现“倒U”型,在收入差距较高时,收入差距对健康的影响主要为负向的,一个可能的原因是收入差距影响到公共卫生设施的供给。再次,收入差距的扩大会加强收入效应,其含义是如果低收入人群的收入更容易受到负向冲击,那么收入差距对低收入人群的健康更为不利。

Income Inequality and Health in Rural China

With the rising income inequality, the effect of income distribution on health and health inequality has aroused ever-increasing concerns. Using CHNS 1997 and 2000 survey data, we attempt to address the following two issues: how could income inequality influence health; does the rising income inequality result in health inequality. We find that the effect of income distribution on health is lagged. There is an “inverted-U” association between income inequality and health in rural China and the detrimental effect occurs in higher inequality areas. A possible reason is that the income inequality has an effect on public health care provision. We also find that the rising income inequality strengthens the income effect, which means the health of lower-income group is worsening since they are more easily exposed to adverse income shocks.