International stratification and the health of women: An empirical comparison of alternative models of world-system position

Womenʹs health status is investigated in the context of stratification in the world-system. We investigate three alternative conceptualizations of the world-system for their effects on womenʹs health status, using country-level data. The models investigate the effects of world-system position, military expenditures, and health resources on womenʹs health status. Comparison of the alternative conceptualizations of world-system position indicate that a continuous model is only negligibly better than three-or five-block models at explaining womenʹs health status. Regardless of how it is measured, world-system position has dramatic effects on womenʹs health.