File(s) not publicly available
Income inequality and mortality in 14 developed countries
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 06:12 authored by Peter LobmayerThe tendency for more egalitarian societies to have lower mortality rates has been identified in international data and subsequently confirmed in analyses of areas within countries, particularly within the USA. However, recent reports using data on OECD countries from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) suggest this relation no longer exists. We investigated whether the shift in relative poverty from elderly people (with high death rates) to young families (low death rates) may have affected the associations. Using age- and sex-specific mortality among 14 OECD countries in relation to income inequality, median income and absolute and relative poverty, we found that wider income distribution is related to higher premature mortality, and higher age-specific mortality rates below, but not above, age 65 years. Absolute income levels showed no consistent relation to mortality. The changing age distribution of relative poverty may have affected the way income inequality impacts on mortality measured across all ages.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Sociology of Health and IllnessISSN
1467-9566Publisher
Blackwell PublishingExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
22Page range
401-414Department affiliated with
- Sociology and Criminology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC