Health as a Welfare Component

IN THIS ANALYSIS, HEALTH HAS BEEN PUT INTO A WELFARE PERSPECTIVE FIRST BY EXAMINING NATIONAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN MORBIDITY, AND SECOND BY EXAMINING THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ILLNESS. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT NATIONAL DIFFERENCES ARE STRAIGHTFORWARD. THE BULK OF FINDINGS INDICATES THE EXCEPTIONALITY OF FINLAND, THE COUNTRY WITH THE WORST HEALTH STATUS AND THE LARGEST SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH. IT ALSO APPEARS TO BE THE COUNTRY WHERE CONCERN ABOUT HEALTH MOST OFTEN OCCUPIES PEOPLE'S MIND, PARTICULARLY AMONG LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS.