Wilkinson's claims about inequality & health

[Marta Russell]

>Michael Pollak wrote:
>
>>In today's FT, Michael Prowse approvingly cites Richard Wilkinson's claim
>>that unequal societies are less healthy.  He does say the claim is
>>"controversial," but also says that outside researchers have confirmed the
>>claim and bases his whole argument on its truth.
>>
>>My impression last time this got discussed onlist was that Wilkinson's
>>data and math didn't support his claim at all, and all reputable health
>>researchers, including many who wanted to believe it, were soon forced to
>>give up this argument up for dead.  Has anything changed?
>
>Nope. As sociologist Christopher Jencks told me, you can make the 
>relation between inequality and health stats appear and disappear, 
>just by changing the specifications of your model. Not a robust 
>statistical finding, in other words. I was sorry to see Prowse 
>pushing this.
>
>Doug

Disability is often factored in as a negative, for instance, in 
assessing health but blind, deaf, mobility impaired and other 
disabled persons usually quantified as "negatives" lacking in quality 
of life. So who determines what "health" is? Who has it and who does 
not?
Marta
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