Black-white differences in self-rated health, 1972-2015

- The black-white gap in self-rated health declined by approximately 50% between 1972 and 2015.
- This decline was not due to relative changes in the demographic or socioeconomic characteristics of blacks and whites.
- The most rapid convergence occurred across the 1947 through 1974 birth cohorts.

This paper documents that the black-white gap in self-rated health declined by approximately 50% between 1972 and 2015.