Download or read book Relative Deprivation Inequality and Mortality written by Angus Deaton and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I present a model of mortality and income that integrates the 'gradient, ' the negative relationship between income and mortality, with the Wilkinson hypothesis, that income inequality poses a risk to health. Individual health is negatively affected by relative deprivation within a reference group, defined as the ratio to group mean income of the total 'weight' of incomes of group members better-off than the individual. I argue that such a model is consistent with what we know about the way in which social status affects health, based on both animal and human models. The theory predicts: (a) within reference groups, which may be as large as whole populations, mortality declines with income, but at a decreasing rate; the mortality to income relationship is monotone decreasing and convex. (b) If the upper tail of the income distribution is Pareto then, among the rich, there will be a negative liriear relationship between the logarithm of the probability of death and the logarithm of income, whose slope is larger the larger is Pareto's constant, itself often interpreted as a measure of equality. (c) A mean-preserving increase in the spread of incomes raises the risk of mortality for everyone. Between reference groups (e.g. states or countries) mortality is independent of the level of average income, but depends on the gini coefficient of income inequality, as does actual aggregate mortality across US states. Individual data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study show that the relative deprivation theory provides a good account of the mortality gradient within states, but actually fails to account for interstate correlation between mortality and income inequality. Further analysis of the aggregate data shows that the effect of income inequality is not robust to the inclusion of other controls, particularly the fraction of blacks in the population. The fraction black is positively associated with white (male) mortality in both the individual and aggregate data and, once the fraction black is controlled for, there is no effect of income inequality on either male or female mortality. No explanation is offered for why white mortality should be higher in states with a higher proportion of blacks in the population.
Download or read book Health and the Income Inequality Hypothesis written by Nick Eberstadt and published by American Enterprise Institute. This book was released on 2004 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few would take exception to the proposition that an improvement in the material well-being of the poor would enhance not only their living standards but their health as well. A number of influential recent studies, however, purport to show that inequality in income -- not poverty per se -- is bad for people's health. This "inequality hypothesis" is meant to apply to everyone, regardless of wealth or social standing, and predicts that the risk of illness depends upon whether one lives in a society that is stratified or egalitarian. Thus, according to this hypothesis, while the poor may suffer the most from inequality, the better off and even the rich suffer as well. The enthusiasm many researchers and observers feel for this theory goes well beyond what might be justified by the evidence. The inequality hypothesis too often relies upon limited or unrepresentative data, hazily expounded causality, elementary econometric fallacies, and results that cannot be replicated. A very persuasive (although less publicly heralded) body of scholarship that challenges the inequality hypothesis is currently emerging. For example, by controlling for relevant variables -- such as household income, maternal characteristics, education, and race -- the relationship between income inequality and the health of infants and adults diminishes or disappears completely. This strongly suggests that income distribution is far less powerful a determinant of population health than the inequality hypothesis holds. Book jacket.
Download or read book Health Inequality and Economic Development written by Angus Deaton and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I explore the connection between income inequality and health in both poor and rich countries. I discuss a range of mechanisms, including nonlinear income effects, credit restrictions, nutritional traps, public goods provision, and relative deprivation. I review the evidence on the effects of income inequality on the rate of decline of mortality over time, on geographical pattens of mortality, and on individual-level mortality. Much of the literature needs to be treated skeptically, if only because of the low quality of much of the data on income inequality. Although there are many puzzles that remain, I conclude that there is no direct link from income inequality to ill-health; individuals are no more likely to die if they live in more unequal places. The raw correlations that are sometimes found are likely the result of factors other than income inequality, some of which are intimately linked to broader notions of inequality and unfairness. That income inequality itself is not a health risk does not deny the importance for health of other inequalities, nor of the social environment. Whether income redistribution can improve population health does not depend on a direct effect of income inequality and remains an open question.
Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Download or read book High and Rising Mortality Rates Among Working Age Adults written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Resources and Relative Deprivation written by Monica Aberg Yngwe and published by . This book was released on 2005-11 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Health Gap written by Michael Marmot and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Punchily written ... He leaves the reader with a sense of the gross injustice of a world where health outcomes are so unevenly distributed' Times Literary Supplement 'Splendid and necessary' Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm, New Statesman There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor. A poor man in Glasgow is rich compared to the average Indian, but the Glaswegian's life expectancy is 8 years shorter. The Indian is dying of infectious disease linked to his poverty; the Glaswegian of violent death, suicide, heart disease linked to a rich country's version of disadvantage. In all countries, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage, dramatically so. Within countries, the higher the social status of individuals the better is their health. These health inequalities defy usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasised access to technical solutions – improved medical care, sanitation, and control of disease vectors; or behaviours – smoking, drinking – obesity, linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These approaches only go so far. Creating the conditions for people to lead flourishing lives, and thus empowering individuals and communities, is key to reduction of health inequalities. In addition to the scale of material success, your position in the social hierarchy also directly affects your health, the higher you are on the social scale, the longer you will live and the better your health will be. As people change rank, so their health risk changes. What makes these health inequalities unjust is that evidence from round the world shows we know what to do to make them smaller. This new evidence is compelling. It has the potential to change radically the way we think about health, and indeed society.
Download or read book Income Relative Deprivation Behavior and Mortality written by Christine E. Eibner and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain written by Pantazis, Christina and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2006-01-19 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes statistical tables and graphs.
Download or read book Health and Deprivation written by Peter Townsend and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When originally published in 1988, this book presented new evidence of inequalities in health found among communities in different areas of the North of England. It relates this evidence to long-term trends taking place in patterns of health in Britain as a whole and explores how far health inequalities can be explained by variations in material deprivation. The book provides a detailed examination of the correlation between health and wealth, or ill-health and deprivation in Britain in the 20th century but the book has an enduring relevance as the Covid Pandemic has once again shown that regional disparities in wealth have profound outcomes for health. The book is of significance for health professionals, social services and those planner and politicians concerned with levelling up.
Download or read book International Analysis Poverty written by Peter Townsend and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1993. The scientific and political debate about poverty has been changing fast -with dramatic implications for intellectual interpretation and action by governments- and the intention in publishing this volume is to contribute to that debate. Scientists concerned to analyse poverty have been thrust by events into greater international service. But there are sinister forces at work which are seeking to divert them into petty issues, to blame the victims of poverty, or to cut them off from the resources or opportunities to investigate and report freely. This book is born of that frustration - and represents the changing debate during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Download or read book Absolute and Relative Deprivation and the Measurement of Poverty written by Jean-Yves Duclos and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book U S Health in International Perspective written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-04-12 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
Download or read book New Horizons in Health written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-03-09 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Horizons in Health discusses how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) can integrate research in the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences to better understand the causes of disease as well as interventions that promote health. It outlines a set of research priorities for consideration by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), with particular attention to research that can support and complement the work of the National Institutes of Health. By addressing the range of interactions among social settings, behavioral patterns, and important health concerns, it highlights areas of scientific opportunity where significant investment is most likely to improve nationalâ€"and globalâ€"health outcomes. These opportunities will apply the knowledge and methods of the behavioral and social sciences to contemporary health needs, and give attention to the chief health concerns of the general public.
Download or read book Poverty in the United Kingdom written by Peter Townsend and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-03-29 with total page 1295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.
Download or read book The Growing Gap in Life Expectancy by Income written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. population is aging. Social Security projections suggest that between 2013 and 2050, the population aged 65 and over will almost double, from 45 million to 86 million. One key driver of population aging is ongoing increases in life expectancy. Average U.S. life expectancy was 67 years for males and 73 years for females five decades ago; the averages are now 76 and 81, respectively. It has long been the case that better-educated, higher-income people enjoy longer life expectancies than less-educated, lower-income people. The causes include early life conditions, behavioral factors (such as nutrition, exercise, and smoking behaviors), stress, and access to health care services, all of which can vary across education and income. Our major entitlement programs - Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Supplemental Security Income - have come to deliver disproportionately larger lifetime benefits to higher-income people because, on average, they are increasingly collecting those benefits over more years than others. This report studies the impact the growing gap in life expectancy has on the present value of lifetime benefits that people with higher or lower earnings will receive from major entitlement programs. The analysis presented in The Growing Gap in Life Expectancy by Income goes beyond an examination of the existing literature by providing the first comprehensive estimates of how lifetime benefits are affected by the changing distribution of life expectancy. The report also explores, from a lifetime benefit perspective, how the growing gap in longevity affects traditional policy analyses of reforms to the nation's leading entitlement programs. This in-depth analysis of the economic impacts of the longevity gap will inform debate and assist decision makers, economists, and researchers.
Download or read book Health Inequalities and Welfare Resources written by Johan Fritzell and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Lisa Berkman, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard UniversityHow welfare states influence population health and health inequalities has long been debated but less well tested by empirical research. This book presents new empirical evidence of the effects of Swedish welfare state structures and policies on the lives of Swedish citizens. The discussion, analysis and innovative theoretical approaches developed in the book have implications for health research and policy beyond Scandinavian borders. Drawing on a rich source of longitudinal data, the Swedish Level of Living Surveys (LNU), and other data, the authors shed light on a number of pertinent issues in health inequality research while at the same time showing how health inequalities have evolved in Sweden over several decades. Topics covered include vbTab]how structural conditions relating to family, socio-economic conditions and the welfare state are important in producing health inequalities; how health inequalities change over the lifecourse and the impact of environment on health inequalities - at home, at school, in the workplace.Health inequalities and welfare resources will be invaluable to researchers, students and practitioners in sociology, social epidemiology, public health and social policy interested in the interplay between society and health.
