Exploring Population Heterogeneities in Health Dynamics

How does individuals' health status evolve over time? Is this evolution characterized by any socio-economic gradient? To answer these questions, this paper proposes a new intuitive and normatively grounded criterion to assess and compare health dynamics over time accounting for population heterogeneities. Implementing this criterion to European data, this paper provides the first pan-European evidence on health dynamics and related heterogeneities from 2005 to 2019. It shows that socio-economic gradients have played an important role in shaping the health dynamics experienced by the European population. These dynamics appear progressive with respect to the pure economic status of individuals determined by their level of income. This feature is reverted when the economic conditions of individuals are widened to include non-pure monetary aspects such as professional condition and parental background.