@article {10171, title = {Life-Cycle Consumption Patterns at Older Ages in the United States and the United Kingdom: Can Medical Expenditures Explain the Difference?}, journal = {American Economic Journal: Economic Policy}, volume = {11}, year = {2019}, pages = {27 - 54}, abstract = {This paper documents significantly steeper declines in nondurable expenditures at older ages in the United Kingdom compared to the United States, in spite of income paths being similar. Several possible causes are explored, including different employment paths, housing ownership and expenses, levels and paths of health status, number of household members, and out-of-pocket medical expenditures. Among all the potential explanations considered, those relating to health care{\textemdash}differences in levels and age paths in medical expenses and medical expenditure risk{\textemdash}can fully account for the steeper declines in nondurable consumption in the United Kingdom compared to the United States.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Cross-National, Medical Expenses, Spending}, issn = {1945-7731}, doi = {10.1257/pol.20170182}, url = {https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20170182https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/pol.20170182}, author = {James Banks and Richard Blundell and Levell, Peter and James P Smith} } @article {8784, title = {International Comparisons in Health Economics: Evidence from Aging Studies}, journal = {Annual Review of Economics}, volume = {4}, year = {2012}, pages = {57-81}, abstract = {The authors provide an overview of the growing literature that uses micro-level data from multiple countries to investigate health outcomes, and their link to socioeconomic factors, at older ages. Since the data are at a comparatively young stage, much of the analysis is at an early stage and limited to a handful of countries, with analysis for the US and England being the most common. What is immediately apparent as they get better measures is that health differences between countries amongst those at older ages are real and large. Countries are ranked differently according to whether one considers life-expectancy, prevalence or incidence of one condition or another. And the magnitude of international disparities may vary according to whether measures utilize doctor diagnosed conditions or biomarker-based indicators of disease and poor health. But one key finding emerges {\textendash} the US ranks poorly on all indicators with the exception of self-reported subjective health status.}, keywords = {Aging, Comparisons, Cross-National, Meta-analyses}, doi = {10.1146/annurev-economics-080511-110944}, author = {James P Smith and James Banks} } @article {5813, title = {Attrition and health in ageing studies: Evidence from ELSA and HRS}, number = {WR-784 }, year = {2010}, institution = {RAND Corporation}, address = {Santa Monica, CA}, abstract = {In this paper we present results of an investigation into observable characteristics associated with attrition in ELSA and the HRS, with a particular focus on whether attrition is systematically related to health outcomes and socioeconomic status (SES). Investigating the links between health and SES is one of the primary goals of the ELSA and HRS, so attrition correlated with these outcomes is a critical concern. We explored some possible reasons for these differences. Survey maturity, mobility, respondent burden, interviewer quality, and differing sampling methods all fail to account for the gap. Differential respondent incentives may play some role, but the impact of respondent incentive is difficult to test. Apparently, cultural differences between the US and Europe population in agreeing to participate and remain in scientific surveys are a more likely explanation.}, keywords = {Cross-National, Demographics, Healthcare, Methodology}, url = {http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2010/RAND_WR784.pdf}, author = {James Banks and Muriel, Alistair and James P Smith} } @article {7513, title = {Disease prevalence, disease incidence, and mortality in the United States and in England.}, journal = {Demography}, volume = {47 Suppl}, year = {2010}, month = {2010}, pages = {S211-31}, publisher = {47}, abstract = {

We find that both disease incidence and disease prevalence are higher among Americans in age groups 55-64 and 70-80, indicating that Americans suffer from higher past cumulative disease risk and experience higher immediate risk of new disease onset compared with the English. In contrast, age-specific mortality rates are similar in the two countries, with an even higher risk among the English after age 65. We also examine reasons for the large financial gradients in mortality in the two countries. Among 55- to 64-year-olds, we estimate similar health gradients in income and wealth in both countries, but for 70- to 80-year-olds, we find no income gradient in the United Kingdom. Standard behavioral risk factors (work, marriage, obesity, exercise, and smoking) almost fully explain income gradients among those aged 55-64 in both countries and a significant part among Americans 70-80 years old. The most likely explanation of the absence of an English income gradient relates to the English income benefit system: below the median, retirement benefits are largely flat and independent of past income, and hence past health, during the working years. Finally, we report evidence using a long panel of American respondents that their subsequent mortality is not related to large changes in wealth experienced during the prior 10-year period.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, England, Health Status, Health Status Disparities, Humans, Incidence, Life Tables, Middle Aged, Morbidity, Mortality, Prevalence, Socioeconomic factors, United States}, issn = {0070-3370}, doi = {10.1353/dem.2010.0008}, author = {James Banks and Muriel, Alastair and James P Smith} } @inbook {5231, title = {Housing Price Volatility and Downsizing in Later Life}, booktitle = {Research Findings in the Economics of Aging}, year = {2010}, pages = {337-379}, publisher = {University of Chicago Press}, organization = {University of Chicago Press}, chapter = {12}, address = {Chicago}, abstract = {In this paper, we modeled several types of housing transitions of the elderly in two countries -- Britain and the United States. One important form of these transitions involves downsizing of housing consumption, the importance of which among older households is still debated. This downsizing takes multiple forms, including reductions in the number of rooms per dwelling and the value of the home. There is also evidence that this downsizing is greater when house price volatility is greater and that American households try to escape housing price volatility by moving to places that are experience significantly less housing price volatility. Our comparative evidence in suggests that there is less evidence of downsizing in Britain. Our results indicate that housing consumption appears to decline with age in the US, even after controlling for the other demographic and work transitions associated with age that would normally produce such a decline. No such fall in housing consumption is found in Britain, largely because British households are much more likely to stay in their original residence.}, keywords = {Consumption and Savings, Cross-National, Demographics, Housing, Retirement Planning and Satisfaction}, author = {James Banks and Richard Blundell and Oldfield, Zo{\"e} and James P Smith}, editor = {David A Wise} } @article {7409, title = {Health disadvantage in US adults aged 50 to 74 years: a comparison of the health of rich and poor Americans with that of Europeans.}, journal = {Am J Public Health}, volume = {99}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Mar}, pages = {540-8}, publisher = {99}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We compared the health of older US, English, and other European adults, stratified by wealth.

METHODS: Representative samples of adults aged 50 to 74 years were interviewed in 2004 in 10 European countries (n = 17,481), England (n = 6527), and the United States (n = 9940). We calculated prevalence rates of 6 chronic diseases and functional limitations.

RESULTS: American adults reported worse health than did English or European adults. Eighteen percent of Americans reported heart disease, compared with 12\% of English and 11\% of Europeans. At all wealth levels, Americans were less healthy than were Europeans, but differences were more marked among the poor. Health disparities by wealth were significantly smaller in Europe than in the United States and England. Odds ratios of heart disease in a comparison of the top and bottom wealth tertiles were 1.94 (95\% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69, 2.24) in the United States, 2.13 (95\% CI = 1.73, 2.62) in England, and 1.38 (95\% CI = 1.23, 1.56) in Europe. Smoking, obesity, physical activity levels, and alcohol consumption explained a fraction of health variations.

CONCLUSIONS: American adults are less healthy than Europeans at all wealth levels. The poorest Americans experience the greatest disadvantage relative to Europeans.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Chronic disease, Confidence Intervals, Disabled Persons, Europe, Female, Health Status Disparities, Heart Diseases, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Odds Ratio, Poverty, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic factors, United States}, issn = {1541-0048}, doi = {10.2105/AJPH.2008.139469}, author = {Mauricio Avendano and M. Maria Glymour and James Banks and Johan P Mackenbach} } @inbook {5235, title = {The SES Health Gradient On Both Sides Of The Atlantic}, booktitle = {Developments in the economics of aging}, series = {A National Bureau of Economic Research conference report}, year = {2009}, pages = {359-406}, publisher = {University of Chicago Press}, organization = {University of Chicago Press}, chapter = {10}, address = {Chicago}, abstract = {Looking across many diseases, average health among mature men is much worse in America compared to England. Second, there exists a steep negative health gradient for men in both countries where men at the bottom of the economic hierarchy are in much worse health than those at the top. This health gradient exists whether education, income, or financial wealth is used as the marker of one{\textquoteright}s SES status. These conclusions are maintained even after controlling for a standard set of behavioral risk factors such as smoking, drinking, and obesity and are equally true using either biological measures of disease or individual self-reports. In contrast to these disease based measures, health of American men appears to be superior to the health of English men when self-reported general health status is used. The contradiction most likely stems instead from different thresholds used by Americans and English when evaluating health status on subjective scales. For the same objective health status, Americans are much more likely to say that their health is good than are the English. Finally, feedbacks from new health events to household income are one of the reasons that underlie the strength of the income gradient with health in England.}, keywords = {Cross-National, Healthcare, Risk Taking}, url = {https://ssrn.com/abstract=942969}, author = {James Banks and Michael Marmot and Oldfield, Zo{\"e} and James P Smith}, editor = {David A Wise} } @article {7068, title = {Disease and Disadvantage in the United States and in England}, journal = {Journal of the American Medical Association}, volume = {295}, year = {2006}, pages = {2037-2045}, publisher = {295}, abstract = {Context The United States spends considerably more money on health care than the United Kingdom, but whether that translates to better health outcomes is unknown. Objective To assess the relative heath status of older individuals in England and the United States, especially how their health status varies by important indicators of socioeconomic position. Design, Setting, and Participants We analyzed representative samples of residents aged 55 to 64 years from both countries using 2002 data from the US Health and Retirement Survey (n=4386) and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (n=3681), which were designed to have directly comparable measures of health, income, and education. This analysis is supplemented by samples of those aged 40 to 70 years from the 1999-2002 waves of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=2097) and the 2003 wave of the Health Survey for England (n=5526). These surveys contain extensive and comparable biological disease markers on respondents, which are used to determine whether differential propensities to report illness can explain these health differences. To ensure that health differences are not solely due to health issues in the black or Latino populations in the United States, the analysis is limited to non-Hispanic whites in both countries. Main Outcome Measure Self-reported prevalence rates of several chronic diseases related to diabetes and heart disease, adjusted for age and health behavior risk factors, were compared between the 2 countries and across education and income classes within each country. Results The US population in late middle age is less healthy than the equivalent British population for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, lung disease, and cancer. Within each country, there exists a pronounced negative socioeconomic status (SES) gradient with self-reported disease so that health disparities are largest at the bottom of the education or income variants of the SES hierarchy. This conclusion is generally robust to control for a standard set of behavioral risk factors, including smoking, overweight, obesity, and alcohol drinking, which explain very little of these health differences. These differences between countries or across SES groups within each country are not due to biases in self-reported disease because biological markers of disease exhibit exactly the same patterns. To illustrate, among those aged 55 to 64 years, diabetes prevalence is twice as high in the United States and only one fifth of this difference can be explained by a common set of risk factors. Similarly, among middleaged adults, mean levels of C-reactive protein are 20 higher in the United States compared with England and mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are 14 lower. These differences are not solely driven by the bottom of the SES distribution. In many diseases, the top of the SES distribution is less healthy in the United States as well. Conclusion Based on self-reported illnesses and biological markers of disease, US residents are much less healthy than their English counterparts and these differences exist at all points of the SES distribution.}, keywords = {Cross-National, Health Conditions and Status, Methodology}, url = {http://www.jama.com}, author = {James Banks and Michael Marmot and Oldfield, Zo{\"e} and James P Smith} } @article {5633, title = {Work Disability is a Pain in the , Especially in England, The Netherlands, and the United States}, year = {2005}, institution = {RAND Labor and Population Program}, abstract = {This paper investigates the role of pain in determining self-reported work disability in the U.S., the U.K. and The Netherlands. Even if identical questions are asked, cross-country differences in reported work disability remain substantial. In the U.S. and the Netherlands, respondent evaluations of work limitations of hypothetical persons described in pain vignettes are used to identify the extent to which differences in self-reports between countries or socio-economic groups are due to systematic variation in the response scales.}, keywords = {Disabilities, Methodology}, url = {http://www.rand.org/labor/pub.html}, author = {James Banks and Arie Kapteyn and James P Smith and Arthur H.O. vanSoest} } @article {12175, title = {Economic measures in the Health and Retirement Study}, year = {2002}, publisher = {National Institute on Aging}, address = {Bethesda, MD}, keywords = {Assets, consumption, Employment, Income, pay, Pension}, author = {James Banks} }