Trends in health inequalities among Spanish retirees
Bellés Obrero, Cristina Adelaida (Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica)
Flores, Manuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada)
García-Gómez, Pilar (Erasmus School of Economics (Rotterdam))
Jiménez-Martín, Sergi (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Vall-Castelló, Judit (Universitat de Barcelona)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada

Data:	2026
Descripció:	29 pag.
Resum:	Spain, with one of the highest life expectancies globally and a rapidly ageing population, faces growing challenges in sustaining its pension, healthcare, and long-term care systems. This study examines trends in health inequalities among retired Spaniards from 2004 to 2022, using eight waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We analyse five health outcomes—limitations in daily and instrumental activities, number of chronic conditions, a composite health deficiency index, mental health (EURO-D scale), and cognitive performance—and use linear regression to assess income-related gradients, adjusted for age and sex. We also compute a catch-up time measure—the number of years a poorer individual would need to reach the same level of health as a richer individual—and concentration indices of bad health. We then examine how these inequalities change over time, allowing us to explore the potential influence of pension reforms within the context of Spain’s Beveridge-style healthcare system and tax-funded long-term care provision. Our results show no clear evidence that health inequality has increased from 2004 to 2022. These findings contribute to understanding how income disparities interact with social protection systems in ageing societies and inform the design of equitable health, long-term care, and pension policies.
Ajuts:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2023-147602OB-I00
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Col·lecció:	Document de treball (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada) ; 02.26
Document:	Working paper
Matèria:	Social security ; Inequality ; Pension reforms ; Health ; Spain

Adreça alternativa: https://ideas.repec.org/p/uab/wprdea/wpdea2602.html

30 p, 2.0 MB

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