Economic achievement, inequalities and health disparities: The intervening role of early health status

Abstract

The persistence of socioeconomic inequalities in adult health and mortality, and the equally stubborn reproduction of social class inequalities are two salient regularities in modern societies. In the domain of health and mortality, it is still uncertain if and to what extent adult health and mortality inequalities across the socioeconomic ladder are the product of attributes of socioeconomic positions themselves or, alternatively, the result of health conditions established earlier in life that influence both adult health and economic success. In the domain of social stratification, the persistence across generations of inequalities in educational attainment, wages, income, and wealth is still resistant to satisfactory explanations. This paper argues that there are important mechanisms that could bridge these seemingly disparate domains and, in addition, offer the materials for simultaneously explaining social and economic inequalities. A systematic review of recent investigations of determinants of wages and income in labor economics and of empirical findings supporting life course theories of adult health status sheds light on the potential relevance of early childhood health for late economic success and adult health status. Linking theories of expanded human capital formation with life course theories of health status is a promising avenue to enrich social stratification theories which have all but ignored mechanisms originating in early childhood health status.