Multidimensional Health Modelling: Association between Socioeconomic Factors and Health in Latvia

This paper proposes new approach for modelling self-assessed health. We find that the concept of health is too complicated to measure effects of health determinants using a one-dimensional econometric model. We apply two-dimensional stereotype logistic model that allows capturing nonmonotonicity in effects of factors and revealing significant effects that remain unrevealed if single dimension models, such as ordered logit or ordered probit, are used. Modelling self-assessed health using multi-dimensional stereotype logit provides higher model goodness of fit and quality measures in comparison to ordered probit model. Multi-dimensional stereotype logit is applied to estimate association between socioeconomic factors and self-assessed health in Latvia. While research on socioeconomic determinants of health in Latvia is scarce, this paper provides new insights into the problem.