The Influence of Social Welfare Policies on Health Disparities Across the Life Course

Abstract

Social welfare spending consumes around 60 % of government spending at the state and federal level. Its cumulative effect on socioeconomic resources across the life course is large—especially for those with limited economic resources. Evolving from research documenting the relationship between socioeconomic position and health over the lifespan, there is a growing body of research demonstrating that social welfare policies play a large role in determining health and mortality outcomes. These two literatures, however, one focused on the health impacts of policies and the other focused on the processes shaping the evolution of health disparities across the life course, now exist in parallel streams. In this chapter I will show how a life course perspective can help inform the growing body of literature focused on the health impacts of social welfare policies, and the ways that this literature can inform scholars studying health disparities across the life course.