Santé, recours aux soins et capital social : une analyse micro-économétrique des inégalités liées à l'immigration

The objective of this research is the study of health and health care use inequalities between immigrant and native populations. A special attention is focused on the role played by social capital, which supposes an influence of social networks or social interactions on health and health care utilisation. In using a micro-econometric framework, our analysis is based on three topics: (i) the emphasis of health or health care use inequalities related to immigration, (ii) the understanding of the contributory factors that generate inequalities, and (iii) the evaluation of the causal impact of social capital on immigrant health and health care use. From a public policy perspective, the analysis of the determinants of health inequalities shows that several types of action could be envisaged. Given the protective role played by social capital on health status, the development of specific neighbourhood actions would seem relevant in improving immigrants’ social inclusion and social support. The prominent role of complementary health care coverage also gives evidence of the need to simplify access to Sate Medical Assistance and mean-tested health insurance so as to favour health prevention and access to health care for immigrants