Income Inequality and Health in Canada

Abstract

Income inequality became an urgent problem for Canada in recent times, since it not only threatens social stability, but also increases the probability of lower health level, which raises the alarm of many economists. This paper examines the association between income inequality, poverty and health in Canada, with the aim to discover the social and economic factors that have an impact on the overall health level of Canadians and make some suggestions to both the government and the population. With the use of data from the Canadian Census and the Canadian Community Health Survey, this paper uses a cross-sectional weighted regression model and a binary logit regression model. Income inequality is proved to significantly negatively affect the health level, and higher level of health and mental health are more likely to be reported by respondents claiming higher income and educational attainment.