The Pace and Distribution of Health Improvements During the last 40 years: Some preliminary results Giovanni Andrea Cornia and Leonardo Menchini

The paper attempts to relate income growth and distribution with mortality changes across and within countries over the last forty years. It shows that in the 1990s the pace of health improvement was slower than that recorded during the prior decades. In addition, the distribution between countries of aggregate health improvements became markedly more skewed and a frequent divergence over time in the within-country distribution of gains in 21 developing countries. The trends are partly explained by Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe, but holds otherwise too. Preliminary results show similarities and linkages between changes in income inequality and health inequality.

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