Countries deviating from the usual association between national income and health status: some possible determinants

Abstract

Given the framework of the well known association between health and the economy, and using indicators based on the most recent available information, we attempt to identify those countries whose health status deviates from that association in a positive or a negative direction. The indicators utilized are: gross national income per capita; life expectation at birth; infant, maternal and adult mortality. Chile does not appear among those countries. With information from the same sources, we discuss some plausible factors that might influence the relative health ranking of the countries, such as: epidemiology, life styles, education and health care.