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Model-based recursive partitioning to estimate unfair health inequalities in the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study

Author

Listed:
  • Brunori, Paolo
  • Davillas, Apostolos
  • Jones, Andrew M.
  • Scarchilli, Giovanna
Abstract
We measure unfair health inequality in the UK using a novel data-driven empirical approach. We explain health variability as the result of circumstances beyond individual control and health-related behaviours. We do this using model-based recursive partitioning, a supervised machine learning algorithm. Unlike usual tree-based algorithms, model-based recursive partitioning does identify social groups with different expected levels of health but also unveils the heterogeneity of the relationship linking behaviors and health outcomes across groups. The empirical application is conducted using the UK Household Longitudinal Study. We show that unfair inequality is a substantial fraction of the total explained health variability. This finding holds no matter which exact definition of fairness is adopted: using both the fairness gap and direct unfairness measures, each evaluated at different reference values for circumstances or effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Brunori, Paolo & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Scarchilli, Giovanna, 2022. "Model-based recursive partitioning to estimate unfair health inequalities in the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117404, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:117404
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/117404/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M, 2020. "Ex ante inequality of opportunity in health, decomposition and distributional analysis of biomarkers," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Brunori, Paolo & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Scarchilli, Giovanna, 2022. "Model-based Recursive Partitioning to Estimate Unfair Health Inequalities in the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 543-565.
    3. Apostolos Davillas & Andrew M Jones, 2021. "The first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic and its impact on socioeconomic inequality in psychological distress in the UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(7), pages 1668-1683, July.
    4. Vincenzo Carrieri & Apostolos Davillas & Andrew M. Jones, 2020. "A latent class approach to inequity in health using biomarker data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(7), pages 808-826, July.
    5. David Pérez-Mesa & à ngel S. Marrero, 2024. "Adult health and inequality of opportunity in Spain," Working Papers 671, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    health equity; inequality of opportunity; machine learning; unhealthy lifestyle behaviours;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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