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Zhao J, Yang W, Zhao K. The Impact of Income Inequality on Health Levels: Empirical Evidence from China:2002-2016. SOCIAL WORK IN PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 39:335-351. [PMID: 38459930 DOI: 10.1080/19371918.2024.2325560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Income inequality had been one of the important manifestations of social inequality, which can affect the health level by affecting savings, health care and living standards. Existing researches about the relationship between income inequality and health ignored the comprehensive characteristic of health concept, and did not consider the intrinsic relationship between health and income inequality. This paper attempts to re-shed light on the relationship. Firstly, this paper constructs a new health level evaluation system from three aspects: health basis, health environment and behavior, and health security. By means of the combination evaluation method, the health levels can be obtained. Then, considering the interaction between health and income inequality, a simultaneous equation group model is constructed to empirically test the relationship between income inequality and health levels in China. The results reveal that health level is negatively correlated with income inequality. Reducing income inequality plays an important role in improving health levels in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinkai Zhao
- College of Economics and Management, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Wanping Yang
- School of Economics and Finance, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Kai Zhao
- School of Economics and Finance, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
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Rajkumar RP. The association between nation-level social and economic indices and suicide rates: A pilot study. FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2023; 8:1123284. [PMID: 37066069 PMCID: PMC10102579 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1123284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Ever since the pioneering work of Emile Durkheim, it has been known that regional or national suicide rates can be influenced by a variety of social and economic factors. Recent research has found a robust association between two country-level economic indices-gross national product and unemployment rate-and suicide rates, particularly in men. However, the association between other country-level social indices-such as measures of social integration, inequality, environmental preservation and political freedom-and suicide rates has not been studied at the cross-national level. In the current study, national suicide rates for men and women were examined in relation to seven indices measuring subjective wellbeing, sustainable development, type of political regime, economic and gender inequality, and social capital. It was found that the Happy Planet Index, a composite measure of subjective wellbeing and sustainable development, was negatively associated with suicide rates independent of gender, and even after adjusting for possible confounding factors. Economic inequality was associated with suicide in men, and social capital was associated with suicide in women. Moreover, the strength and direction of the associations observed between socioeconomic indices and suicide varied across income groups. These results highlight the need for a closer evaluation of the link between large-scale ("macro") social factors and individual ("micro") psychological factors, as well as the importance of integrating these factors into suicide prevention programmes at the national level.
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McFarland MJ, Hill TD, Montez JK. Income Inequality and Population Health: Examining the Role of Social Policy. JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 2023; 64:2-20. [PMID: 35848112 DOI: 10.1177/00221465221109202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Studies of the relationship between income inequality and life expectancy often speculate about the role of policy, but direct empirical research is limited. Drawing on the neo-materialist perspective, we examine whether the longitudinal association between income inequality and life expectancy is mediated and moderated by policy liberalism in U.S. states (2000-2014). More liberal policy contexts are characterized by greater efforts to regulate the economy, redistribute income, and protect vulnerable groups and lesser efforts to penalize deviant social behavior. We find that state-level income inequality is inversely associated with policy liberalism and life expectancy. The association between income inequality and life expectancy was not mediated by policy liberalism but was moderated by it. The association is attenuated in states with more liberal policy contexts, supporting the neo-materialist perspective. This finding illustrates how states like New York and California (with liberal policy contexts) can exhibit high income inequality and high life expectancy.
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Rising childhood income inequality and declining Americans' health. Soc Sci Med 2022; 303:115016. [PMID: 35567904 PMCID: PMC9750155 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Morbidity and mortality are on the rise among Baby Boomers and younger cohorts. This study investigates whether this unfavorable health trend across birth cohorts 1925-1999 is related to rising income inequality Americans face during childhood. We use two nationally representative datasets: National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 1988-2018 and Panel Studies of Income Dynamics (PSID) 1968-2013, and two health outcomes: biomarkers of physiological dysregulation, and a chronic disease index. Childhood income inequality is measured by the average of the Gini index at the national level each birth cohort is exposed to between birth and age 18, where the Gini index from 1925 to 2016 is computed based on Internal Revenue Service income data. By merging childhood income inequality to individual level data from NHANES or PSID based on birth cohort, we find childhood income inequality is positively associated with the risk of physiological dysregulation in adulthood for all gender and racial groups in the NHANES data. It is also significantly related to the risk of chronic disease in the PSID data. This association is robust to controls for individual level childhood health and family background, adulthood socioeconomic and marital status, and contemporary macro socioeconomic factors. More importantly, childhood income inequality exposure explains a substantial amount of variation in these two health outcomes across cohorts, a pattern not observed for other early life exposures that display negative temporal trends similar to those for childhood income inequality. This study provides important evidence that income inequality experienced during childhood may have a long-lasting negative consequence for adult health, which partially explains the adverse health trends experienced by Baby Boomers and younger cohorts in the United States.
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Alexiou C, Trachanas E. Health Outcomes, Income and Income Inequality: Revisiting the Empirical Relationship. Forum Health Econ Policy 2021; 24:75-100. [PMID: 36259395 DOI: 10.1515/fhep-2021-0042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In this paper we revisit the relationship between health outcomes, income, and income inequality by applying alternative panel methodologies to a dataset of high-income countries spanning the time period 1980-2017. In this direction, we adopt alternative methodological frameworks in order to provide a) meaningful results by taking into account standard errors that alleviate problems of cross-sectional (spatial) and temporal dependence, and b) insights into the underlying relationships at several points of the conditional distribution of the health outcomes dependent variables. The evidence strongly supports the significant role that income plays in determining health outcomes. The findings relating to income inequality and nonlinear terms are more fragmented in that their significance and sign-direction depend on the functional form and the respective quantiles of the distribution the relationships are evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emmanouil Trachanas
- Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Income inequality and non-communicable disease mortality and morbidity in Brazil States: a longitudinal analysis 2002-2017. LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH. AMERICAS 2021; 2:100042. [PMID: 36779037 PMCID: PMC9904117 DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2021.100042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Background Income inequality can negatively affect population health by increasing social stress and conflict, and reducing trust, public goods and healthcare access. However there is limited evidence from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) with high levels of inequality. This study investigates the association between income inequality, morbimortality and risk factors of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in 26 Brazilian states from 2002 to 2017. Methods Data was acquired for men and women from the Global Health Data Exchange, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health, totalling 416 state-year observations. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and risk factors of NCDs were the dependent variables. Gini Index was the main independent variable. Multivariate linear panel regressions were performed, controlling for state and time fixed effects, gross domestic product per capita, population ageing, poverty and access to healthcare. Findings A 1% increase in the Gini Index was associated with increases in alcohol abuse (of 923•4 DALYs per 100,000 people, 95%CI 217•6 to 1629•0) and diabetes mellitus morbidity (of 893•3 DALYs per 100,000 people, 95%CI 127•7 to 1659•0), and decreases in morbidity from attention disorder (of -4•0 DALYs per 100,000 people, 95%CI -7•4 to -0•5) and autism spectrum (of -2•4 DALYs per 100,000 people, 95%CI -4•3 to -0•5). These associations were greater for men, further supported by associations with alcohol use as a risk factor. Interpretation This study provides evidence from a highly unequal LMIC, Brazil, of negative associations between income inequality and NCDs, and the importance of addressing wider social determinants of health. Funding This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 as a Brazilian CAPES scholarship to AZD and by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), grant 2020/15944-8 to RSG.
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Japaridze I, Sayour N. Dying from envy: The role of inequality. HEALTH ECONOMICS 2021; 30:1374-1392. [PMID: 33786904 DOI: 10.1002/hec.4261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We hypothesize that when interpersonal comparisons, often referred to as "keeping up with the Joneses", are operational, relative deprivation (income inequality) results in increased likelihood of morbidity among lower income households. Using a simple theoretical model, we show that the larger the income disparities between "the Joneses" and "the followers", the higher is the followers' expenditure on conspicuous consumption and the lower is their expenditure on health. We empirically test our hypotheses using Canadian data from the Canadian Community Health Survey and the Survey of Household Spending and US data from the National Health Interview Survey. We find that, in peer groups defined by geographic proximity of residence or similar socio-economic background, larger income disparities are associated with higher spending by the followers on conspicuous consumption, lower health expenditure, worse self-reported health and younger age at death.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nagham Sayour
- Department of Finance and Economics, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Is there a relationship between welfare-state policies and suicide rates? Evidence from the U.S. states, 2000–2015. Soc Sci Med 2020; 246:112778. [DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Pak TY, Choung Y. Relative deprivation and suicide risk in South Korea. Soc Sci Med 2020; 247:112815. [PMID: 32036248 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Revised: 01/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress and the related biochemical response have been hypothesized as a potential mechanism underlying the link between relative deprivation and mortality. While suicide is known as the likely manifestation of severe mental illness, less is known about the effect that relative deprivation has on suicide risk. Using the 2012 to 2018 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study, we examined the association between relative deprivation in income and suicide risk among South Koreans aged 25 or older. Relative deprivation is assessed with the Yitzhaki index, Deaton index, and income rank within the reference group, and suicide risk is measured as suicidal ideation and suicide planning or attempt in the preceding year. Adjusted for absolute income and other socioeconomic characteristics, the odds ratios of reporting suicidal ideation for each 10000 k KRW (8300 USD) increase in the Yitzhaki index were around 1.42 (95% CI: 1.08-1.87) to 1.72 (95% CI: 1.30-2.28). The estimated odds ratios were in the range of 1.70 (95% CI: 1.04-2.78) to 1.95 (95% CI: 1.26-3.02) for suicide planning or attempt. The association between relative deprivation in income and suicidal ideation was found significant only for men, not for women. The inferences were robust to various definitions of relative deprivation and reference group. Taken together, our findings suggest that relative deprivation in income is independently associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation and suicide planning or attempt over and above the effect of absolute income and material living conditions. Narrowing the income gap between individuals would be an effective policy response to a suicide epidemic in South Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae-Young Pak
- Department of Consumer Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea.
| | - Youngjoo Choung
- Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.
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Bird PK, Pickett KE, Graham H, Faresjö T, Jaddoe VWV, Ludvigsson J, Raat H, Seguin L, Wijtzes AI, McGrath JJ. Income inequality and social gradients in children's height: a comparison of cohort studies from five high-income countries. BMJ Paediatr Open 2019; 3:e000568. [PMID: 31909223 PMCID: PMC6937032 DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2019-000568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Health and well-being are better, on average, in countries that are more equal, but less is known about how this benefit is distributed across society. Height is a widely used, objective indicator of child health and predictor of lifelong well-being. We compared the level and slope of social gradients in children's height in high-income countries with different levels of income inequality, in order to investigate whether children growing up in all socioeconomic circumstances are healthier in more equal countries. METHODS We conducted a coordinated analysis of data from five cohort studies from countries selected to represent different levels of income inequality (the USA, UK, Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden). We used standardised methods to compare social gradients in children's height at age 4-6 years, by parent education status and household income. We used linear regression models and predicted height for children with the same age, sex and socioeconomic circumstances in each cohort. RESULTS The total analytic sample was 37 063 children aged 4-6 years. Gradients by parent education and household income varied between cohorts and outcomes. After adjusting for differences in age and sex, children in more equal countries (Sweden, the Netherlands) were taller at all levels of parent education and household income than children in less equal countries (USA, UK and Australia), with the greatest between-country differences among children with less educated parents and lowest household incomes. CONCLUSIONS The study provides preliminary evidence that children across society do better in more equal countries, with greatest benefit among children from the most disadvantaged socioeconomic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa K Bird
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK
| | - Kate E Pickett
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK
| | - Hilary Graham
- Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK
| | - Tomas Faresjö
- Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Vincent W V Jaddoe
- Generation R Study Group, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johnny Ludvigsson
- Division of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Hein Raat
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Louise Seguin
- Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Anne I Wijtzes
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jennifer J McGrath
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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Cyrus T. Pathways from trade to health. Rev Panam Salud Publica 2019; 42:e51. [PMID: 31093079 PMCID: PMC6386062 DOI: 10.26633/rpsp.2018.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
International trade has increased over time, both in volume and as a share of gross domestic product, and international trade agreements have proliferated. This rise in trade has many potential impacts on health outcomes. Trade raises living standards, allowing for greater spending on education and medical care, which improves health. However, trade may worsen intranational inequality, leading to increased stress and adverse impacts on mortality. Labor markets are affected by international trade, and the resulting changes in unemployment, working hours, and injury rates have an impact on health outcomes. Trade may induce adverse environmental impacts, such as increased pollution, leading to worsened health. Reductions in prices as a result of changes to trade policy may increase the consumption of unhealthy goods, including tobacco and processed foods, thus worsening the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. Trade agreements may affect the ability of governments to legislate health-improving policies. Overall, international trade and trade agreements may have both positive and negative effects on health outcomes; government policy may be used to ameliorate any adverse effects of trade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Cyrus
- Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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12
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Associations between state-level policy liberalism, cannabis use, and cannabis use disorder from 2004 to 2012: Looking beyond medical cannabis law status. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2019; 65:97-103. [PMID: 30685092 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Revised: 09/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Medical cannabis laws (MCL) have received increased attention as potential drivers of cannabis use (CU), but little work has explored how the broader policy climate, independent of MCL, may impact CU outcomes. We explored the association between state-level policy liberalism and past-year cannabis use (CU) and cannabis use disorder (CUD). METHODS We obtained state-level prevalence of past-year CU and CUD among past year cannabis users for ages 12-17, 18-25, and 26+ from the 2004-2006 and 2010-2012 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. States were categorized as liberal, moderate, or conservative based on state-level policy liberalism rankings in 2005 and 2011. Linear models with random state effects examined the association between policy liberalism and past-year CU and CUD, adjusting for state-level social and economic covariates and medical cannabis laws. RESULTS In adjusted models, liberal states had higher average past-year CU than conservative states for ages 12-17 (+1.58 percentage points; p = 0.03) and 18-25 (+2.96 percentage points; p = 0.01) but not for 26+ (p = 0.19). CUD prevalence among past year users was significantly lower in liberal compared to conservative states for ages 12-17 (-2.87 percentage points; p = 0.045) and marginally lower for ages 26+ (-2.45 percentage points; p = 0.05). CONCLUSION Liberal states had higher past-year CU, but lower CUD prevalence among users, compared to conservative states. Researchers and policy makers should consider how the broader policy environment, independent of MCL, may contribute to CU outcomes.
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Hill TD, Jorgenson A. Bring out your dead!: A study of income inequality and life expectancy in the United States, 2000-2010. Health Place 2017; 49:1-6. [PMID: 29128719 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 10/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
We test whether income inequality undermines female and male life expectancy in the United States. We employ data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and two-way fixed effects to model state-level average life expectancy as a function of multiple income inequality measures and time-varying characteristics. We find that state-level income inequality is inversely associated with female and male life expectancy. We observe this general pattern across four measures of income inequality and under the rigorous conditions of state-specific and year-specific fixed effects. If income inequality undermines life expectancy, redistribution policies could actually improve the health of states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terrence D Hill
- The University of Arizona, School of Sociology, P.O. Box 210027, Social Sciences Building, Room 400, 1145 E. South Campus Drive, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Andrew Jorgenson
- Boston College, Department of Sociology, McGuinn Hall 426, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA.
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Gallet CA, Doucouliagos H. The impact of healthcare spending on health outcomes: A meta-regression analysis. Soc Sci Med 2017; 179:9-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Gavurová B, Vagašová T. Regional differences of standardised mortality rates for ischemic heart diseases in the Slovak Republic for the period 1996-2013 in the context of income inequality. HEALTH ECONOMICS REVIEW 2016; 6:21. [PMID: 27259718 PMCID: PMC4893046 DOI: 10.1186/s13561-016-0099-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aim of paper is to analyse the development of standardised mortality rates for ischemic heart diseases in relation to the income inequality in the regions of Slovakia. This paper assesses different types of income indicators, such as mean equivalised net income per household, Gini coefficient, unemployment rate, at risk of poverty threshold (60 % of national median), S80/S20 and their effect on mortality. METHODS Using data from the Slovak mortality database 1996-2013, the method of direct standardisation was applied to eliminate variances resulted from differences in age structures of the population across regions and over time. To examine the relationships between income indicators and standardised mortality rates, we used the tools of descriptive statistics and methods of correlation and regression analysis. RESULTS At first, we show that Slovakia has the worst values of standardised mortality rates for ischemic heart diseases in EU countries. Secondly, mortality rates are significantly higher for males compared with females. Thirdly, mortality rates are improving from Eastern Slovakia to Western Slovakia; additionally, high differences in the results of variability are seen among Slovak regions. Finally, the unemployment rate, the poverty rate and equivalent disposable income were statistically significant income indicators. CONCLUSIONS Main contribution of paper is to demonstrate regional differences between mortality and income inequality, and to point out the long-term unsatisfactory health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beáta Gavurová
- Faculty of Economics, Technical University of Košice, Němcovej 32, 040 01, Košice, Slovakia.
| | - Tatiana Vagašová
- Faculty of Economics, Technical University of Košice, Němcovej 32, 040 01, Košice, Slovakia
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Elgar FJ, Gariépy G, Torsheim T, Currie C. Early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being. Soc Sci Med 2016; 174:197-208. [PMID: 27986310 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Revised: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A prevailing hypothesis about the association between income inequality and poor health is that inequality intensifies social hierarchies, increases stress, erodes social and material resources that support health, and subsequently harms health. However, the evidence in support of this hypothesis is limited by cross-sectional, ecological studies and a scarcity of developmental studies. To address this limitation, we used pooled, multilevel data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study to examine lagged, cumulative, and trajectory associations between early-life income inequality and adolescent health and well-being. Psychosomatic symptoms and life satisfaction were assessed in surveys of 11- to 15-year-olds in 40 countries between 1994 and 2014. We linked these data to national Gini indices of income inequality for every life year from 1979 to 2014. The results showed that exposure to income inequality from 0 to 4 years predicted psychosomatic symptoms and lower life satisfaction in females after controlling lifetime mean income inequality, national per capita income, family affluence, age, and cohort and period effects. The cumulative income inequality exposure in infancy and childhood (i.e., average Gini index from birth to age 10) related to lower life satisfaction in female adolescents but not to symptoms. Finally, individual trajectories in early-life inequality (i.e., linear slopes in Gini indices from birth to 10 years) related to fewer symptoms and higher life satisfaction in females, indicating that earlier exposures mattered more to predicting health and wellbeing. No such associations with early-life income inequality were found in males. These results help to establish the antecedent-consequence conditions in the association between income inequality and health and suggest that both the magnitude and timing of income inequality in early life have developmental consequences that manifest in reduced health and well-being in adolescent girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank J Elgar
- Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Geneviève Gariépy
- Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Torbjørn Torsheim
- Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Candace Currie
- Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom
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17
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Rosicova K, Bosakova L, Madarasova Geckova A, Rosic M, Andrejkovic M, Žežula I, Groothoff JW, van Dijk JP. Regional mortality by socioeconomic factors in Slovakia: a comparison of 15 years of changes. Int J Equity Health 2016; 15:115. [PMID: 27435090 PMCID: PMC4952279 DOI: 10.1186/s12939-016-0404-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Like most Central European countries Slovakia has experienced a period of socioeconomic changes and at the same time a decline in the mortality rate. Therefore, the aim is to study socioeconomic factors that changed over time and simultaneously contributed to regional differences in mortality. Methods The associations between selected socioeconomic indicators and the standardised mortality rate in the population aged 20–64 years in the districts of the Slovak Republic in the periods 1997–1998 and 2012–2013 were analysed using linear regression models. Results A higher proportion of inhabitants in material need, and among males also lower income, significantly contributed to higher standardised mortality in both periods. The unemployment rate did not contribute to this prediction. Between the two periods no significant changes in regional mortality differences by the selected socioeconomic factors were found. Conclusions Despite the fact that economic growth combined with investments of European structural funds contributed to the improvement of the socioeconomic situation in many districts of Slovakia, there are still districts which remain “poor” and which maintain regional mortality differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Rosicova
- Kosice Self-governing Region, Department of Regional Development, Land-use Planning and Environment, Nam. Maratonu mieru 1, 042 66, Kosice, Slovakia. .,Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia. .,Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.
| | - Lucia Bosakova
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.,Faculty of Business Economics, Department of Quantitative Methods, University of Economics in Bratislava, Kosice, Slovakia.,Olomouc University Society and Health Institute, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Madarasova Geckova
- Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.,Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.,Olomouc University Society and Health Institute, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Rosic
- Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov, Presov, Slovakia
| | - Marek Andrejkovic
- Faculty of Business Economics, Department of Quantitative Methods, University of Economics in Bratislava, Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Ivan Žežula
- Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Johan W Groothoff
- Department of Community and Occupational Health, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jitse P van Dijk
- Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, Pavol Jozef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.,Olomouc University Society and Health Institute, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Department of Community and Occupational Health, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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18
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Abstract
Much research has investigated the association of income inequality with average life expectancy, usually finding negative correlations that are not very robust. A smaller body of work has investigated socioeconomic disparities in life expectancy, which have widened in many countries since 1980. These two lines of work should be seen as complementary because changes in average life expectancy are unlikely to affect all socioeconomic groups equally. Although most theories imply long and variable lags between changes in income inequality and changes in health, empirical evidence is confined largely to short-term effects. Rising income inequality can affect individuals in two ways. Direct effects change individuals' own income. Indirect effects change other people's income, which can then change a society's politics, customs, and ideals, altering the behavior even of those whose own income remains unchanged. Indirect effects can thus change both average health and the slope of the relationship between individual income and health.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher Jencks
- Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138; ,
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Hu Y, van Lenthe FJ, Mackenbach JP. Income inequality, life expectancy and cause-specific mortality in 43 European countries, 1987-2008: a fixed effects study. Eur J Epidemiol 2015; 30:615-25. [PMID: 26177800 PMCID: PMC4579249 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-015-0066-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 06/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Whether income inequality is related to population health is still open to debate. We aimed to critically assess the relationship between income inequality and mortality in 43 European countries using comparable data between 1987 and 2008, controlling for time-invariant and time-variant country-level confounding factors. Annual data on income inequality, expressed as Gini index based on net household income, were extracted from the Standardizing the World Income Inequality Database. Data on life expectancy at birth and age-standardized mortality by cause of death were obtained from the Human Lifetable Database and the World Health Organization European Health for All Database. Data on infant mortality were obtained from the United Nations World Population Prospects Database. The relationships between income inequality and mortality indicators were studied using country fixed effects models, adjusted for time trends and country characteristics. Significant associations between income inequality and many mortality indicators were found in pooled cross-sectional regressions, indicating higher mortality in countries with larger income inequalities. Once the country fixed effects were added, all associations between income inequality and mortality indicators became insignificant, except for mortality from external causes and homicide among men, and cancers among women. The significant results for homicide and cancers disappeared after further adjustment for indicators of democracy, education, transition to national independence, armed conflicts, and economic freedom. Cross-sectional associations between income inequality and mortality seem to reflect the confounding effects of other country characteristics. In a European context, national levels of income inequality do not have an independent effect on mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannan Hu
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Frank J van Lenthe
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johan P Mackenbach
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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20
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Breuer C. Unemployment and Suicide Mortality: Evidence from Regional Panel Data in Europe. HEALTH ECONOMICS 2015; 24:936-950. [PMID: 24934277 DOI: 10.1002/hec.3073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2013] [Revised: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
This paper addresses the influence of economic activity on suicide mortality in Europe. To this end, it employs a new panel data set of 275 regions in 29 countries over the period 1999-2010. The results suggest that unemployment does have a significantly positive influence on suicides. In line with economic theory, this influence varies among gender and age groups. Men of working age are particularly sensitive, while old-age suicide mortality (older than 65 years old) hardly responds to unemployment. Moreover, real economic growth negatively affects the suicide rates of working-age men. The results withstand several robustness checks, such as sample variations, and after controlling for serial and spatial autocorrelation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Breuer
- Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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21
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Yamamura E. Comparison of Social Trust's effect on suicide ideation between urban and non-urban areas: The Case of Japanese Adults in 2006. Soc Sci Med 2015. [PMID: 26218455 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have addressed the determinants of suicide. Social capital is a key factor in preventing suicide. However, little is known about the experience of suicide ideation using subjective values. From the viewpoint of suicide prevention, it is worth examining how people think of suicide. This paper attempts to examine the effect of social capital on suicide ideation. Furthermore, the paper compares the effect of social capital between urban and non-urban areas. In this paper, urban areas are equivalent to mega-cities with populations over one million. Non-urban areas are cities with populations of less than one million, towns and villages. Individual-level data from the Japanese General Social Surveys (JGSSs) are used. The survey, which was conducted in 2006, provides information about the subjective value of suicide ideation. The survey was answered by 1413 subjects with a mean age of 54.5. Of the subjects, 49% were male. Social trust is used to measure the degree of social capital, and the outcome of interest is suicide ideation within the past 5 years. After controlling for various factors, the major findings are that both individual-level social trust and social trust accumulated in one's residential administrative district reduce the probability that one will consider suicide. After dividing the sample into urban and non-urban residents, particularized trust plays a role in deterring suicide ideation in urban areas, while generalized trust plays a role in deterring suicide ideation in non-urban areas. The effect of each type of trust depends on its scarcity in residential areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eiji Yamamura
- Department of Economics, Seinan Gakuin University, 6-2-92 Sawaraku Fukuoka, 814-8511 Fukuoka, Japan.
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22
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Impact of income inequality and other social determinants on suicide rate in Brazil. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124934. [PMID: 25928359 PMCID: PMC4416030 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2014] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies about suicide worldwide have mainly focused on individual-level psychiatric risk factors. In Brazil, suicide is an important public health problem. Brazil has evidenced important socioeconomic changes over the last decades, leading to decreasing income inequality. However, the impact of income inequality on suicide rate has never been studied in the country.
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23
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24
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Lillard DR, Burkhauser RV, Hahn MH, Wilkins R. Does early-life income inequality predict self-reported health in later life? Evidence from the United States. Soc Sci Med 2014; 128:347-55. [PMID: 25577308 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We investigate the association between adult health and the income inequality they experienced as children up to 80 years earlier. Our inequality data track shares of national income held by top percentiles from 1913 to 2009. We average those data over the same early-life years and merge them to individual data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data for 1984-2009. Controlling for demographic and economic factors, we find both men and women are statistically more likely to report poorer health if income was more unequally distributed during the first years of their lives. The association is robust to alternative specifications of income inequality and time trends and remains significant even when we control for differences in overall childhood health. Our results constitute prima facie evidence that adults' health may be adversely affected by the income inequality they experienced as children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dean R Lillard
- Department of Human Sciences, 1787 Neil Avenue, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; DIW Berlin, Mohrenstraße 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany; NBER, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Richard V Burkhauser
- DIW Berlin, Mohrenstraße 58, 10117 Berlin, Germany; NBER, Cambridge, MA, USA; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Markus H Hahn
- Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Roger Wilkins
- Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Australia
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25
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Blum M. The influence of inequality on the standard of living: worldwide anthropometric evidence from the 19th and 20th centuries. ECONOMICS AND HUMAN BIOLOGY 2013; 11:436-452. [PMID: 23352274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2012.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2011] [Revised: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/14/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We provide empirical evidence on the existence of the Pigou-Dalton principle. The latter indicates that aggregate welfare is - ceteris paribus - maximized when incomes of all individuals are equalized (and therefore marginal utility from income is as well). Using anthropometric panel data on 101 countries during the 19th and 20th centuries, we determine that there is a systematic negative and concave relationship between height inequality and average height. The robustness of this relationship is tested by means of several robustness checks, including two instrument variable regressions. These findings help to elucidate the impact of economic inequality on welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Blum
- Technische Universität München, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Alte Akademie 8, 85354 Freising, Germany.
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26
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Kim D, Saada A. The social determinants of infant mortality and birth outcomes in Western developed nations: a cross-country systematic review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2013; 10:2296-335. [PMID: 23739649 PMCID: PMC3717738 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph10062296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2013] [Revised: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 05/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Infant mortality (IM) and birth outcomes, key population health indicators, have lifelong implications for individuals, and are unequally distributed globally. Even among western industrialized nations, striking cross-country and within-country patterns are evident. We sought to better understand these variations across and within the United States of America (USA) and Western Europe (WE), by conceptualizing a social determinants of IM/birth outcomes framework, and systematically reviewing the empirical literature on hypothesized social determinants (e.g., social policies, neighbourhood deprivation, individual socioeconomic status (SES)) and intermediary determinants (e.g., health behaviours). To date, the evidence suggests that income inequality and social policies (e.g., maternal leave policies) may help to explain cross-country variations in IM/birth outcomes. Within countries, the evidence also supports neighbourhood SES (USA, WE) and income inequality (USA) as social determinants. By contrast, within-country social cohesion/social capital has been underexplored. At the individual level, mixed associations have been found between individual SES, race/ethnicity, and selected intermediary factors (e.g., psychosocial factors) with IM/birth outcomes. Meanwhile, this review identifies several methodological gaps, including the underuse of prospective designs and the presence of residual confounding in a number of studies. Ultimately, addressing such gaps including through novel approaches to strengthen causal inference and implementing both health and non-health policies may reduce inequities in IM/birth outcomes across the western developed world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kim
- Behavioural and Policy Sciences Department, RAND Corporation, 20 Park Plaza, Suite 920, Boston, MA 02116, USA
- Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, Rennes 35043, France
| | - Adrianna Saada
- Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; E-Mail:
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27
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Milner A, Hjelmeland H, Arensman E, Leo DD. Social-Environmental Factors and Suicide Mortality: A Narrative Review of over 200 Articles. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.4236/sm.2013.32021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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28
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Grönqvist H, Johansson P, Niknami S. Income inequality and health: lessons from a refugee residential assignment program. JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS 2012; 31:617-629. [PMID: 22698883 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2011] [Revised: 05/07/2012] [Accepted: 05/08/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
This paper examines the effect of income inequality on health for a group of particularly disadvantaged individuals: refugees. Our analysis draws on longitudinal hospitalization records coupled with a settlement policy where Swedish authorities assigned newly arrived refugees to their first area of residence. The policy was implemented in a way that provides a source of plausibly random variation in initial location. The results reveal no statistically significant effect of income inequality on the risk of being hospitalized. This finding holds also for most population subgroups and when separating between different types of diagnoses. Our estimates are precise enough to rule out large effects of income inequality on health.
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29
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De Maio FG, Linetzky B, Ferrante D, Fleischer NL. Extending the income inequality hypothesis: Ecological results from the 2005 and 2009 Argentine National Risk Factor Surveys. Glob Public Health 2012; 7:635-47. [DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2012.663399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Bechtel L, Lordan G, Rao DSP. Income inequality and mental health--empirical evidence from Australia. HEALTH ECONOMICS 2012; 21 Suppl 1:4-17. [PMID: 22556000 DOI: 10.1002/hec.2814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The causal association between absolute income and health is well-established; however, the relationship between income inequality and health is not. The conclusions from the received studies vary across the region or country studied and/or the methodology employed. Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel survey, this paper investigates the relationship between mental health and inequality in Australia. A variety of income inequality indices are calculated to test both the income inequality and relative deprivation hypotheses. We find that mental health is only adversely affected by the presence of relative deprivation to a very small degree. In addition, we do not find support for the income inequality hypothesis. Importantly, our results are robust to a number of sensitivity analyses.
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31
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32
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Cullen MR, Cummins C, Fuchs VR. Geographic and racial variation in premature mortality in the U.S.: analyzing the disparities. PLoS One 2012; 7:e32930. [PMID: 22529892 PMCID: PMC3328498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2011] [Accepted: 02/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Life expectancy at birth, estimated from United States period life tables, has been shown to vary systematically and widely by region and race. We use the same tables to estimate the probability of survival from birth to age 70 (S(70)), a measure of mortality more sensitive to disparities and more reliably calculated for small populations, to describe the variation and identify its sources in greater detail to assess the patterns of this variation. Examination of the unadjusted probability of S(70) for each US county with a sufficient population of whites and blacks reveals large geographic differences for each race-sex group. For example, white males born in the ten percent healthiest counties have a 77 percent probability of survival to age 70, but only a 61 percent chance if born in the ten percent least healthy counties. Similar geographical disparities face white women and blacks of each sex. Moreover, within each county, large differences in S(70) prevail between blacks and whites, on average 17 percentage points for men and 12 percentage points for women. In linear regressions for each race-sex group, nearly all of the geographic variation is accounted for by a common set of 22 socio-economic and environmental variables, selected for previously suspected impact on mortality; R(2) ranges from 0.86 for white males to 0.72 for black females. Analysis of black-white survival chances within each county reveals that the same variables account for most of the race gap in S(70) as well. When actual white male values for each explanatory variable are substituted for black in the black male prediction equation to assess the role explanatory variables play in the black-white survival difference, residual black-white differences at the county level shrink markedly to a mean of -2.4% (+/-2.4); for women the mean difference is -3.7% (+/-2.3).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R Cullen
- General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America.
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33
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Zheng H. Do people die from income inequality of a decade ago? Soc Sci Med 2012; 75:36-45. [PMID: 22503559 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2011] [Revised: 01/11/2012] [Accepted: 02/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The long-term impact of income inequality on health has not been fully explored in the current literature. Until now, 4 studies have examined the lagged effect on population/group mortality rate at the aggregate level, and 7 studies have investigated the effect of income inequality on subsequent individual mortality risk within a restricted time period. These 11 studies suffer from the same limitation: they do not simultaneously control for a series of preceding income inequalities. The results of these studies are also mixed. Using the U.S. National Health Interview Survey data 1986-2004 with mortality follow-up data 1986-2006 (n = 701,179), this study investigates the lagged effects of national-level income inequality on individual mortality risk. These effects are tested by using a discrete-time hazard model where contemporaneous and preceding income inequalities are treated as time-varying person-specific covariates, which then track a series of income inequalities that a respondent faces from the survey year until s/he dies or is censored. Findings suggest that income inequality did not have an instantaneous detrimental effect on individual mortality risk, but began exerting its influence 5 years later. This effect peaked at 7 years, and then diminished after 12 years. This pattern generally held for three measures of income inequality: the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index, and the Theil entropy index. The findings suggest that income inequality has a long-term detrimental impact on individual mortality risk. This study also explains discrepancies in the existant literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zheng
- Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 107 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
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34
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Rosicova K, Madarasova Geckova A, van Dijk JP, Kollarova J, Rosic M, Groothoff JW. Regional socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity as predictors of regional infant mortality rate in Slovakia. Int J Public Health 2011; 56:523-31. [PMID: 20976517 PMCID: PMC3174369 DOI: 10.1007/s00038-010-0199-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2009] [Revised: 04/29/2010] [Accepted: 09/12/2010] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Exploring the associations of regional differences in infant mortality with selected socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity could offer important clues for designing public health policy measures. METHODS Data included perinatal and infant mortality in the 79 districts of the Slovak population in 2004. Linear regression was used to analyse the contribution of education, unemployment, income and proportion of Roma population on regional differences in perinatal and infant mortality rates. RESULTS All the explored socioeconomic indicators and ethnicity individually contributed significantly to both perinatal and infant mortality, with the exception of income. In the model exploring the influence of all these variables together on perinatal and infant mortality, only the effect of the proportion of Roma population remained significant. This model explained 34.9% of the variance for perinatal and 36.4% of the variance for infant mortality. CONCLUSIONS Living in Roma settlements indicates an accumulation of socioeconomic disadvantage. Health literacy, health-related behaviour and many other factors might contribute to the explanation of the differences in infant mortality, and a better understanding of these processes might help us to design tailored interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Rosicova
- Kosice Self-Governing Region, Department of Regional Development and Land-Use Planning, Kosice, Slovakia.
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35
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Harper S, Lynch J, Smith GD. Social Determinants and the Decline of Cardiovascular Diseases: Understanding the Links. Annu Rev Public Health 2011; 32:39-69. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sam Harper
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A2, Canada;
| | - John Lynch
- Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide SA 5001; School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, University of Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia;
- School of Community and Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom
| | - George Davey Smith
- School of Community and Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom
- MRC Center for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom;
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36
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Dávila Quintana CD, González López-Valcárcel B. Crisis económica y salud. GACETA SANITARIA 2009; 23:261-5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2009.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2009] [Accepted: 04/15/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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37
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Gravelle H, Sutton M. Income, relative income, and self-reported health in Britain 1979-2000. HEALTH ECONOMICS 2009; 18:125-145. [PMID: 18404665 DOI: 10.1002/hec.1354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We test the relative income hypothesis that an individual's health depends on the distribution of income in a reference group, as well as on the income of the individual. We use data on 231 208 individuals in Great Britain from 19 rounds of the General Household Survey between 1979 and 2000. Results are insensitive to the measure of self-assessed health used but the sign and significance of the effect of relative income depend on the reference group (national or regional) and the measure of relative income (Gini coefficient, absolute or proportional difference from the reference group mean, Yitzhaki absolute and proportional relative deprivation and affluence). Only one model (relative deprivation measured as income proportional to regional mean income) performs better than the model without relative income and has a positive estimated effect of absolute income on health. In this model the increase in the probability of good health from a ceteris paribus reduction in relative deprivation from the upper quartile to zero is 0.010, whereas an increase in income from the lower to the upper quartile increases the probability by 0.056. While our results provide only very weak support for the relative deprivation hypothesis, the inevitable correlation of measures of individual income and relative deprivation measured by comparing income and incomes in a reference group makes identification of the separate effects of income and relative deprivation problematic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugh Gravelle
- National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.
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