(The Roots of Inequality and the Value of Intra-family Expertise (joint with Maria Polyakova and Yiqun Chen
Abstract: Mounting evidence points to a stark correlation
between income and health, yet the causal mechanisms behind this
gradient are poorly understood. This paper examines the impact
of information on health, and whether differential access to
information contributes to the health-income gradient. Our
empirical setting, Sweden, allows us to shut down differences in
formal access to health care, and to leverage population-wide
tax data linked to birth and medical records. First, we document
strong socioeconomic gradients in mortality and health; the
health gradient emerges in early childhood and steepens over
time. Second, we study the effect of a particular type of
information -- the presence of a medical doctor or nurse in the
family -- on a set of health outcomes, using event studies and
exploiting "admissions lotteries" into medical schools. A
medical professional in the extended family prolongs older
generations' life span and reduces their likelihood of suffering
from a heart attack or diabetes; further, younger generations
are less likely to consume drugs treating ADHD or depression,
and more likely to be vaccinated. Third, we show that the poor
respond the most to information, but also face the greatest
information scarcity. The interaction between poverty and access
to information about health and health care may play a
significant role in sustaining health inequality.