ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a different perspective by raising several theoretical questions about poverty and health so as to elicit answers that might improve public policy. Many writers simply assert, without rigorous testing, that poverty is the cause of poor health. In England, social class is often used as a proxy for poverty, but this is problematic. Income and education are correlated, but the correlation is not so high as to preclude sorting out their separate relationships with health. In some studies, income is negatively related to health once years of schooling are controlled for. Good health may lead to more schooling, or there may be third variables that affect both schooling and health. Differences among individuals in self-efficacy are probably correlated across several domains, such as health and education, thus helping explain the close relationship between these variables. The health policy literature abounds with articles that describe and decry the difficulty faced by poor Americans in obtaining health care.
