Inequalities of income and inequalities of longevity: A cross-country study

Eric Neumayer and T. Plumper

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 1, 160-165

Abstract: Objectives. We examined the effects of market income inequality (income inequality before taxes and transfers) and income redistribution via taxes and transfers on inequality in longevity. Methods.Weused life tables to compute Gini coefficients of longevity inequality for all individuals and for individuals who survived to at least 10 years of age. We regressed longevity inequality on market income inequality and income redistribution, and we controlled for potential confounders, in a cross-sectional time-series sample of up to 28 predominantly Western developed countries and up to 37 years (1974-2011). Results. Income inequality before taxes and transfers was positively associated with inequality in the number of years lived; income redistribution (the difference between market income inequality and income inequality after taxes and transfers were accounted for) was negatively associated with longevity inequality. Conclusions.To the extent that our estimated effects derived from observational data are causal, governments can reduce longevity inequality not only via public health policies, but also via their influence on market income inequality and the redistribution of incomes from the relatively rich to the relatively poor.

Keywords: child; developed country; government; human; human experiment; life table; longevity; market; public health; tax; time series analysis; cultural factor; factual database; gross national product; health disparity; income; life expectancy; poverty; public policy; statistics and numerical data; trends, Cross-Cultural Comparison; Databases, Factual; Gross Domestic Product; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Income; Life Expectancy; Longevity; Poverty; Public Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302849

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Working Paper: Inequalities of income and inequalities of longevity: a cross-country study (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302849_4

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302849

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