The DOI matches its Crossref record; 68 of the 72 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Understanding differences in health behaviors by education
Open accessAbstract
Using a variety of data sets from two countries, we examine possible explanations for the relationship between education and health behaviors, known as the education gradient. We show that income, health insurance, and family background can account for about 30 percent of the gradient. Knowledge and measures of cognitive ability explain an additional 30 percent. Social networks account for another 10 percent. Our proxies for discounting, risk aversion, or the value of future do not account for any of the education gradient, and neither do personality factors such as a sense of control of oneself or over one's life.
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“this finding is supported by many studies showing that social determinants of health are key drivers of mortality,50, 51, 52, 53, 54”
From Global age-sex-specific mortality, life expectancy, and population estimates in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1950–2021, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (2024) · cites this paper as [51]
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“the prevalence of several risk behaviors is generally higher among those with fewer than nine years of formal education, begins to decline among those who have nine to 12 years of formal education, and continues to decline with additional years of education”
From Education improves public health and promotes health equity (2015) · cites this paper as [28]
In the citing paper
“There is also strong evidence of a dose response between years of education and many health-related risk and protective behaviors among US adults.”
From Education improves public health and promotes health equity (2015) · cites this paper as [28]
In the citing paper
“Similar results are found by Cutler and Lleras-Muney,28 who use different sources to assess associations between educational attainment, health behaviors, and mortality in the United States and Great Britain.”
From Education improves public health and promotes health equity (2015) · cites this paper as [28]
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Citations
Cites
The Handbook of Social Psychology
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Grossman, M. (1972) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/259880 · Cited by 5,951 · cited 2×
“Grossman (1972) ; in his formulation, education allows inputs to be combined more productively.”
BackgroundActual causes of death in the United States
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“Mokdad et al. (2004) estimate that nearly half of all deaths in the United States are attributable to behavioral factors, most importantly smoking, excessive weight, and heavy alcohol intake.”
BackgroundInfluential1. On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health
Grossman, M. B. (2017) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/gros17812-004 · Cited by 3,999
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“Unweighted regressions use the methodology in Kling et al. (2007) .”
InfluentialBarsky, R. B., Juster, F. T., Kimball, M. S., & Shapiro, M. D. (1997) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/003355397555280 · Cited by 2,400 · cited 1×
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BackgroundEconomic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors
Pampel, F. C., Krueger, P. M., & Denney, J. T. (2010) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.012809.102529 · Cited by 1,944
“The tendency of low-SES groups to adopt unhealthy behaviors despite the monetary and health costs is a puzzle that many studies have examined but, with one very recent exception (Cutler & Lleras-Muney 2010), not addressed in a comprehensive way.”
BackgroundInfluentialWang, H., Abbas, K. M., Abbasifard, M., Abbasi-Kangevari, M., Abbastabar, H., Abd-Allah, F., Abdelalim, A., Abolhassani, H., Abreu, L. G., Abrigo, M. R. M., et al. (2020) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30977-6 · Cited by 1,971
The Relationship Between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities Through a Contextual Approach
Zajacova, A., & Lawrence, E. M. (2018) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031816-044628 · Cited by 1,205
Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society
Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2007) · Cited by 1,110
Schumacher, A. E., Kyu, H. H., Aali, A., Abbafati, C., Abbas, J., Abbasgholizadeh, R., Abbasi, M. A., Abbasian, M., Abd ElHafeez, S., Abdelmasseh, M., et al. (2024) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(24)00476-8 · Cited by 1,045
Metadata
- Authors
- Cutler, D. M., & Lleras-Muney, A.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- ORCID
- Cutler, David M.
- Venue
- Journal of Health Economics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-01
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-28
- ISSN
- 0167-6296 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2824018
- OpenAlex
- W2164662768
- Cited by
- 1,920
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 137 · 2025: 153 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 124 · 2022: 142 · 2021: 142 · 2020: 139 · 2019: 130 · 2018: 130 · 2017: 119 · 2016: 101 · 2015: 127 · 2014: 121 · 2013: 79 · 2012: 79
- FWCI
- 52.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Health Economics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (P01AG005842)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24HD041022)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Healthcare Policy and Management
- Keywords
- education gradient, health behavior, income, health insurance, family background, health knowledge, cognitive ability, social networks, risk aversion, discounting, perceived control, cross-national comparison
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, United States, Health Behavior, Databases, Factual, Risk Reduction Behavior
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