A Quantitative Evaluation of the Relationship Between Income and Self-Reported Health in Canada, 1996-1999

Abstract

The focus of the research is on quantitative characterization of a potential relationship between income and health. The study is conducted in both levels and increments contexts. As a background, the research relies on Grossman's standard economic model of health as well as on previous empirical investigations. The source of the data is the Survey of Income and Labour Dynamics, administered by Statistics Canada. The set of instruments implemented includes ordered probit and ordered logit models, gamma GLM models, the OLS method and bootstrapping techniques in linear models. The results of the study suggest that there exists a strong association between the levels of health and income, whereas no evidence of significant association between the increments is present.