Socioeconomic inequalities in health dynamics: A comparison of Britain and the United States

How Society Shapes the Health Gradient: Work-Related Health Inequalities in a Comparative Perspective

“…Longitudinal analyses among European countries have also not found a consistent relationship with income, education, or unemployment (19,20,45,55). Studies that include the United States as a comparator find that health inequalities are steeper there than in conservative or social democratic regimes (61,73) or in other liberal welfare regimes (10,58,75,85).…”

“…We draw on longitudinal data from the German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the American Panel of Income Dynamics (PSID) for the period of 1984 to 2005 to examine the association between unemployment and mortality and selfreported health status (SRHS). These studies also highlight the value of using the small but growing set of longitudinal datasets rich in economic, social, and health measures, such as the GSOEP and PSID, for comparative research into health over the life course (16,58,70,72,84,85). Full details on the data, study design, cohort construction, measures, and analytic approaches are presented elsewhere (60,61).…”

“…Lest inequalities in health be treated purely as a residual, however, it should be noted that, within each category, there are variations across countries that can be consequential for population health. Some LMEs, for instance, such as Canada and Australia, offer higher levels of social protection and more public goods that may well contribute to the better health outcomes observed in those countries (10,58,74,85,88). There is scope for improving health outcomes in all types of political economies, but one of the first steps is to acknowledge the impact that the distinctive institutional structures of different types of political economies can have on health.…”

“…Although these health gradients are present in all highincome societies, their shapes vary substantially across societies. For example, low income, education, or unemployment does not lead to the same degree of health disadvantage in Canada (49,51,59,85), the United Kingdom (10,58), or Germany (61) compared with the United States. Moreover, cross-national variation in the shape of these socioeconomic health gradients implies that these gradients are not attributable solely to health selection into lower socioeconomic status (SES) but are socially produced.…”

Cumulative disadvantage, employment–marriage, and health inequalities among American and British mothers

“…However, subsequent work suggested that Britain's egalitarian benefit structure, large public sector, strong trade unions, progressive taxation, and publicly funded healthcare distinguishes it from the US (Castles & Mitchell, 1993). Indeed, these differences may have repercussions for social inequalities in health which, as some research indicates, may be larger in the US (McDonough, Worts, & Sacker, 2010;Banks, Marmot, Oldfield, & James, 2006). Moreover, Britain has provided higher social transfers to families -especially those headed by women -than the US (Christopher, 2002;Ray, Gornick, & Schmitt, 2010).…”