Health responses to a wealth shock: evidence from a Swedish tax reform

Using a variety of data sets from two countries, we examine possible explanations for the relationship between education and health behaviors, known as the education gradient. We show that income, health insurance, and family background can account for about 30 percent of the gradient. Knowledge and measures of cognitive ability explain an additional 30 percent. Social networks account for another 10 percent. Our proxies for discounting, risk aversion, or the value of future do not account for any of the education gradient, and neither do personality factors such as a sense of control of oneself or over one's life. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) publishes Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines to serve as a foundation for its communication, policy, and community strategies and, ultimately, to affect dietary and physical activity patterns among Americans. These Guidelines, published approximately every 5 years, are developed by a national panel of experts in cancer research, prevention, epidemiology, public health, and policy, and they reflect the most current scientific evidence related to dietary and activity patterns and cancer risk. The ACS Guidelines focus on recommendations for individual choices regarding diet and physical activity patterns, but those choices occur within a community context that either facilitates or creates barriers to healthy behaviors. Therefore, this committee presents recommendations for community action to accompany the 4 recommendations for individual choices to reduce cancer risk. These recommendations for community action recognize that a supportive social and physical environment is indispensable if individuals at all levels of society are to have genuine opportunities to choose healthy behaviors. The ACS Guidelines are consistent with guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association for the prevention of coronary heart disease and diabetes, as well as for general health promotion, as defined by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society, Inc.