Racial mortality gaps

I show
that quality of the clinics or doctors is not the underlying reason for racial differences in black and
white mortality….Differences in patient self-management trigger a racial mortality gap even
when access and treatment are equalized.

But does that paper arrive at a sensible conclusion?

Considerable reductions in medical costs could be achieved
by instructing patients about the importance of strictly following the therapy regimen.  A special
emphasis on educating minorities will have the added benefit of reducing the black-white mortality gap
by at least two-thirds.

I am more likely to think that peer effects from the early years of life are difficult to reverse by education and persuasion alone.  Here is the paper.  That’s from Emilia Simeonova, who is on the job market this year from Columbia.

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