نابرابری درآمد، سطح منطقه فقر، گریزی به درک نابرابری و رتبه بندی فرد از بهداشت در ژاپن

In this study we conduct a multilevel analysis to investigate the association between regional income inequality and self-rated health in Japan, based on two nationwide surveys. We confirm that there is a significant association between area-level income inequality and individual-level health assessment. We also find that health assessment tends to be more sensitive to income inequality among lower income individuals, and to degree of area-level poverty, than income inequality for the society as a whole. In addition, we examine how individuals are averse to inequality, based on the observed association between inequality and self-rated health.

The relationship between income inequality and health has been one of the central issues in social epidemiology, and a rich literature examines it empirically. Following an influential paper by Wilkinson (1992), who showed that a more economically unequal society has a shorter life expectancy, ecological studies have pointed to a relationship between income inequality and poor health.