Socioeconomic Differentials in Adult Morbidity in Nicaragua: Modeling the Proximate Determinants and Testing the Social Gradient

Steven Haas, University of Wisconsin at Madison

This paper uses LSMS data and recursive structural models with latent variables to specify and test a proximate determinants framework through which SES affects health among adults in Nicaragua. It builds on previous work in western industrialized countries on socioeconomic differentials in adult health and the proximate determinants framework developed by Mosely and Chen (1984) in an attempt to narrow the research void on adult health between more & less developed countries. I test whether or not proximate determinants associated with an infectious disease etiology have strong mediating effects between SES and adult health outcomes. The results suggest that the answer is yes for education and indicators of household wealth but no for general household expenditures. I also test for a social gradient effect on health. The findings suggest that there is only a slight social gradient effect of education on health as mediated by the proximate determinants modeled here.