How much of the relation between population mortality and unequal distribution of income is a statistical artefact?
BMJPublished 31 January 1998
Hugh Gravelle
Citations401
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
It is shown that a positive correlation between population mortality and income inequality can arise at aggregate level even if inequality has no effect on the individual risk of mortality.
Abstract
How much of the relation between population mortality and unequal distribution of income is a statistical artefact?
Keywords
Social SciencesHealth ProfessionsEnvironmental Science
Journal of Economic TheoryIncreasing risk: I. A definition
3,918 Citations1970Michael Rothschild, Joseph E. Stiglitz
Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality
2,889 Citations1996Richard G. Wilkinson
Population StudiesThe Changing Relation between Mortality and level of Economic Development
1,628 Citations1975Samuel H. Preston
A very simple technique has been used to shed light on a number of questions about the influence of economic level on national mortality trends and differentials, suggesting that some 75–90 per cent of the growth in life expectancy for the world as a whole over these three decades is attributable to factors exogenous to a nation's contemporary level of income.
The Journal of Human ResourcesWealthier is Healthier
1,318 Citations1996Lant Pritchett, Lawrence H. Summers
The authors use instrumental variables estimation to identify the effect of income on health that is structural and causal, isolated from reverse causation or incidental association, and calculate that in 1990 alone, more than half a million child deaths in the developing world could be attributed to poor economic performance in the 1980s.
BMJInequality in income and mortality in the United States: analysis of mortality and potential pathways
1,247 Citations1996George A. Kaplan, Elsie R. Pamuk +3 more
Variations between states in the inequality of the distribution of income are significantly associated with variations betweenStates in a large number of health outcomes and social indicators and with mortality trends.
BMJIncome distribution and life expectancy.
1,184 Citations1992Richard G. Wilkinson
There is clear evidence of a strong relation between a societys income distribution and the average life expectancy of its population.
BMJSocioeconomic determinants of health: Health inequalities: relative or absolute material standards?
886 Citations1997Richard G. Wilkinson
BMJIncome distribution and mortality: cross sectional ecological study of the Robin Hood index in the United States
805 Citations1996Bruce P. Kennedy, Ichiro Kawachi +1 more
Variations between states in the inequality of income were associated with increased mortality from several causes, suggesting that policies that deal with the growing inequities in income distribution may have an important impact on the health of the population.
Journal of Health EconomicsNew evidence on the relationship between income and health
748 Citations1996Susan L. Ettner
Both ordinary and IV estimates indicate that increases in income significantly improve mental and physical health but increase the prevalence of alcohol consumption.
Population StudiesIncome and inequality as determinants of mortality: An international cross-section analysis
555 Citations1979G. B. Rodgers
Journal of Public EconomicsMeasurement of income inequality
409 Citations1992Yoram Amiel, Frank Cowell
The Quarterly Journal of EconomicsIncome Distribution and Infant Mortality
291 Citations1992Robert Waldmann
JAMASocioeconomic inequalities in health. No easy solution
235 Citations1993Nancy E. Adler
Health insurance coverage alone is not likely to reduce significantly SES differences in health, and attention should be paid both in policy decisions and in clinical practice to other SES-related factors that may influence patterns of health and disease.
BMJIncome inequality and mortality: why are they related?
207 Citations1996George Davey Smith
Two studies relate income inequality between states in the United States to mortality rates within these states and show that greater income inequality is associated with higher mortality from several broad causes of death, although taking levels of poverty and smoking prevalence into account attenuates these associations.
BMJDoes the variation in the socioeconomic characteristics of an area affect mortality?
189 Citations1996Yoav Ben‐Shlomo, Ian R. White +1 more
This work aimed to determine whether the risk of mortality in a geographical area was related to the degree of socioeconomic variation within that area as well as the average level of deprivation.
The Economic JournalSpending on Alcohol: Evidence from the Family Expenditure Survey 1970-1983
121 Citations1990A. B. Atkinson, Joanna Gomulka +1 more
Hübner international series on risk, insurance, and economic securityIncreasing Risk: I. A Definition
113 Citations1992Michael Rothschild, Joseph E. Stiglitz
BMJIncome distribution and life expectancy.
110 Citations1992D. P. Forster
It is strongly recommend that oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and blood pressure are recorded every five minutes for all patients undergoing transvenous pacing; there should be a low threshold for giving supplemental oxygen; and emergency drugs, suction equipment, and equipment to intubate and ventilate patients should be immediately to hand.
Economic studies in inequality, social exclusion and well-beingThe Measurement of Income Inequality
66 Citations2009
Social Science & MedicineInternational cross-section analysis of the determination of mortality
49 Citations1987Hugh Gravelle, Martin E. Backhouse
Issues raised include simultaneous equation bias, multicollinearity, selection of explanatory variables, omitted variable bias, definition and measurement of variables, functional forms, lagged relationships and temporal stability.
British Journal of AddictionFactors Influencing the Consumption of Alcohol and Tobacco: the use and abuse of economic models
41 Citations1989Christine Godfrey
It is argued that properly specified demand models that take account of all the important factors that influence consumption are required, otherwise inadequate modelling may lead to misleading estimates of the effects of policy changes.
Journal of Health EconomicsTime series analysis of mortality and unemployment
33 Citations1984Hugh Gravelle
BMJCommentary: A reply to Ken Judge: mistaken criticisms ignore overwhelming evidence
30 Citations1995Richard G. Wilkinson
Despite Judge's highly personal focus, mine is far from being the only evidence of an association between national mortality rates and income distribution, and the criticisms that Judge directs at two of my five demonstrations of the relation would leave the bulk of the evidence unscathed.
