Income transfers and income inequality

This paper examines two hypotheses dealing with the level of income inequality in the United States: the inequality stability and inequality reduction arguments. It shows that when data on the impact of income transfers to the nonpoor population are taken into account, the inequality stability hypothesis appears to be the most accurate.     

Income inequality and fertility: A comparative view

Summary Most studies pertaining to the relationship between population and economic development suffer from a major flaw. Researchers use aggregate measures like income or energy consumption per head as indicators of economic development. Such aggregate measures fail to take into account the nature of the distribution of income or energy consumption to the population. The present study attempts to demonstrate the importance of incorporating the nature of distribution of resources as an important intervening variable in the study of the overall relationship between population and economic development. A measure of income inequality is developed which represents the difference between rural and urban incomes. This measure is justified in terms of the distinctiveness of urban and rural sectors in the process of development. The data used relate to societal measures of fertility, income, income inequality, etc. Consistently with existing literature, we observe that, generally speaking, economic development does entail a reduction in rural-urban income inequalities. On the other hand, a substantial part of the negative effect of an increase in income per head can be nullified if such an increase were not also accompanied by a reduction in rural-urban income inequality. Also, a substantial part of the negative effect of an increase in income per head and the level of education in reducing the level of infant mortality would be nullified if it did not also result in a reduction of rural-urban income inequality. On the other hand, it is quite possible for the level of education in a society to increase together with an increase in income per head without substantially altering the extent of inequality of income between the rural and the urban population. It is suggested that the positive relationship between rural-urban income inequality and the level of fertility is due to higher rural fertility rates in a high-inequality country. By implication, this would mean that higher standards of living for the rural population compared with its urban counterpart will have a favourable impact in reducing rural fertility.     

An international comparison of excessive adult mortality

Abstract Empirical expressions derived by Coale and Demeny accurately characterized the relationships among death rates of different age groups for each sex during an extended period of time in Western nations. However, the relationships have changed in recent years, as the mortality of older persons has increasingly exceeded the level expected on the basis of these expressions. The recent disruption is relatively small for females and may be due to very rapid declines in maternal mortality. Among males, the change has been quite pronounced, and it is suggested that increases in cigarette consumption are largely responsible.     

Income inequality and solidarity in Europe

This paper studies the relationship between income inequality, a macro-level characteristic, and solidarity of Europeans. To this aim, solidarity is defined as the ‘willingness to contribute to the welfare of other people’. We rely on a theoretical idea according to which feelings of solidarity are derived from both affective and calculating considerations – we derive competing hypotheses relating the extent of income inequality to these ‘underlying’ motivations for solidarity. Using data from the 1999 European Values Study (EVS), we apply multilevel analysis for 26 European countries. Controlling for household income and a range of macro-level characteristics, we find evidence that in more unequal countries people are less willing to take action to improve the living conditions of their fellow-countrymen. This is true for respondents living in both low- and high-income households. According to our theoretical framework, this finding suggests that, at least when measured in terms of ‘willingness to contribute to the welfare of other people’, feelings of solidarity seem to be influenced more strongly by affective, rather than by calculating considerations.     

Three faces of international inequality

Recent studies of international inequality have focused mostly on the trend in international income inequality. This article extends the analysis of international inequality to also include inequalities in education and health. Analyses of time-series data for more than 100 countries show that international income inequality declined from 1980 to 2003 as several large, poor Asian countries outpaced many Western countries in national income growth. By contrast, international health inequality followed a U-shaped trend, falling in the 1980s before rising in the 1990s. The turnaround in health inequality coincides with a trend of declining life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. International educational inequality experienced the sharpest recent decline, spurred by the global expansion of formal schooling. These findings confirm that there is more to international inequality than income inequality alone and suggest that patterns of inequality in the current era of globalization are likely more complex than many leading theories suggest.     

Development,inequality, health care,and mortality at the older ages: a cross-national analysis

We examine mortality at ages 50 and above in female populations of 38 countries and control for variation in quality of the mortality data. We find that economic development, economic distributional inequality, and basic primary health care have independent cross-national effects on cause of death structures and that these effects are not uniform across the age intervals of interest. As improvements occur in level of living and heath care, age-specific death rates decline except at the oldest ages, at which point they may increase. Our results are interpreted in terms of their relevance for mortality research, theory, and policy.     

Socialization and demographic determinants of mortality expectations

Since subjective life expectancy (SLE) has been found related to a variety of personal orientations, the clarification of its determinants should facilitate understanding of social behavior. A theoretical model is presented which includes sociodemographic and socialization predictors. It was hypothesized that SLE would vary with exposure to early death among near relatives, family size, and desired longevity (DL). Exposure and DL were expected to vary with socioeconomic status (SES), age, and ethnic membership. Results from a sample of 513 students (18–29 years of age) indicated that the mean SLE of females exposed to same-sex early death was markedly lower than that of males or of females exposed to opposite-sex death. Among respondents with death exposure, family size was inversely related to SLE. SES had a direct effect on the dependent variable; the effects of age and ethnic membership were indirect. While death socialization attenuates SLE, it does not affect DL. It was suggested, therefore, that increased exposure to early death could heighten personal frustration, especially among females.Lynn D. Nelson and Julie A. Honnold are affiliated with the Department of Sociology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284. Requests for reprints should be directed to Lynn Nelson.     

An analysis of indirect mortality estimation

Abstract In this paper the robustness of Brass's child-survivorship indirect mortality estimation technique is investigated. An analytical method is developed for studying the error or bias caused in indirect mortality estimates by poor data, badly chosen model functions, and specific demographic assumptions that are often violated in practice. The resulting analytical expressions give insight into the rationale of indirect methods, the conditions under which they are robust, and the magnitude of errors that occur when specific assumptions are violated.     

An analysis of indirect mortality estimation

In this paper the robustness of Brass's child-survivorship indirect mortality estimation technique is investigated. An analytical method is developed for studying the error or bias caused in indirect mortality estimates by poor data, badly chosen model functions, and specific demographic assumptions that are often violated in practice. The resulting analytical expressions give insight into the rationale of indirect methods, the conditions under which they are robust, and the magnitude of errors that occur when specific assumptions are violated.     

When nature rebels: international migration, climate change, and inequality

We study climate change and international migration in a two-country overlapping generations model with endogenous climate change. Our main findings are that climate change increases migration; small impacts of climate change have significant impacts on the number of migrants; a laxer immigration policy increases long-run migration, aggravates climate change, and increases north–south inequality if climate change impacts are not too small; and a greener technology reduces emissions, long-run migration, and inequality if the migrants’ impact to overall climate change is large. The preference over the policies depends on whether the policy maker targets inequality, wealth, the environment, or the number of migrants.     

A century of international mortality trends: I

An attempt is made to summarize the chief generalizations that can be drawn from available evidence on world mortality developments during the last hundred years. Past and prospective trends are compared for three broad groups of populations or approximately those in the West, Eastern and Southern Europe, and Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Two major points of emphasis are that the usual methods of comparing regional changes can usefully be supplemented by other approaches, and that the mortality history of Western nations may prove a highly unsatisfactory guide to future trends elsewhere. The study is based on a nearly complete compilation of the national life tables on record.     

Does regional variation affect ecological mortality research? An examination of mortality, income inequality and health infrastructure in the Mississippi Delta

Mortality research has often focused on individual-level, socioeconomic, and demographic factors indicating health outcomes. Consistent with a recent trend in the public health field, this research examines mortality at the aggregate, contextual level. Based on Wilkinson’s relative income hypothesis, specifically being manifest through an underinvestment in social goods including health infrastructure, the focus of this study is a regional examination in the effects of income inequality on mortality at the county level. Health infrastructure is included as a mediating variable in the relationship between income inequality and mortality, relating back to Wilkinson’s work. Unlike previous research, regional differences in this relationship are examined to identify variation at the county level in health outcomes. The Mississippi Delta is an adequate test bed to examine the relationship between these variables based on its socioeconomic, demographic, and high inequality characteristics. It is hypothesized that Delta-designated counties within the three-state Delta region distinguish a significant positive relationship between income inequality and mortality, that this relationship is stronger than in non-Delta classified counties, and that health infrastructure significantly mediates the relationship between income inequality and mortality.     

Income inequality and self-rated health status: Evidence from the european community household panel

We examine the effect of income inequality on individualś self-rated health status in a pooled sample of 11 countries, using longitudinal data from the European Community Household Panel survey. Taking advantage of the longitudinal and cross-national nature of our data, and carefully modeling the self-reported health information, we avoid several of the pitfalls suffered by earlier studies on this topic. We calculate income inequality indices measured at two standard levels of geography (NUTS-0 and NUTS-1) and find consistent evidence that income inequality is negatively related to self-rated health status in the European Union for both men and women, particularly when measured at national level. However, despite its statistical significance, the magnitude of the impact of inequality on health is very small.     

Socio-economic determinants of mortality in Latin America

The characteristics and sources of socioeconomic differentials of mortality in Latin America, in so far as they are currently known, are examined in an attempt to clarify the present situation and its perspectives. Mortality in a population is a function of the frequency of illness (incidence) and the probability of dying of the sick individual (lethality). Information on the socioeconomic differentials of mortality in Latin America is systematically reviewed with attention directed to the following: differentials among Latin American countries, regional differences within countries, urban-rural contrasts in mortality, mortality and income level and level of education, and mortality and ethnic groups. Latin America shows considerable heterogeneity with respect to the risk of dying, which varies from 202/1000 births in Bolivia to 38/1000 in Uruguay. It is estimated that more than 1/2 of the children born in Latin America are exposed to a mortality rate of over 120/1000. A study of the urban and rural populations of 12 Latin American countries revealed that the risk for rural populations exceeds that for urban populations by 30-60%. There is extensive evidence showing that mortality is higher in the working class and is associated with lower levels of education and income. Mortality was also higher in certain indigenous groups. Socioeconomic differentials of mortality are more marked in Latin America than in the developed nations. The mother's level of educational attainment is the variable most significantly associated with infant and child mortality. The prospect of reducing the current mortality levels is dependent primarily upon the implementation of policies aimed at a more egalitarian distribution of the benefits of socioeconomic development among the population.     

US mortality in an international context: age variations

Compared to other developed countries, the United States ranks poorly in terms of life expectancy at age 50. We seek to shed light on the US's low life expectancy ranking by comparing the age-specific death rates of 18 developed countries at older ages. A striking pattern emerges: between ages 40 and 75, US all-cause mortality rates are among the poorest in the set of comparison countries. The US position improves dramatically after age 75 for both males and females. We consider four possible explanations of the age patterns revealed by this analysis: (1) access to health insurance; (2) international differences in patterns of smoking; (3) age patterns of health care system performance; and (4) selection processes. We find that health insurance and smoking are not plausible sources of this age pattern. While we cannot rule out selection, we present suggestive evidence that an unusually vigorous deployment of life-saving technologies by the US health care system at very old ages is contributing to the age-pattern of US mortality rankings. Differences in obesity distributions are likely to be making a moderate contribution to the pattern but uncertainty about the risks associated with obesity prevents a precise assessment.     

Registration completeness and international comparisons of infant mortality

The physical development of the live born infant is the single most important variable governing its survival: infant mortality among those weighing 2,500 grams (5 1/2 pounds) or less at birth is 17 times the mortality among those weighing more than 2,500 grams at birth. The variation in mortality according to birth weight (or gestation) is greater than for subclasses of color, sex, maternal age, or birth order. Infant mortality in the United States is significantly higher than in a number of other countries e.g., Sweden, Netherlands, Norway. The difference is thought, by some, to be due to underregistration of low birth weight infants in other countries. In this paper, distributions of live births by birth weight for Denmark, England and Wales, New Zealand, and the United States, and infant mortality data for Denmark and the United States are examined. The data do not support a hypothesis of gross underregistration of live born infants in other countries. The results indicate that some index of physical development (birth weight, gestation, or a combination of both) should be included in any appraisal of infant mortality.     

[An analysis of regional differential mortality].]

Regional differences in mortality and life expectancy in China are explored, and the socioeconomic, cultural, and educational factors affecting such differences are considered using data from the 1982 census. The author notes that mortality, particularly infant mortality, is highest in economically underdeveloped areas, and female infant mortality is high in both rural and urban areas. It is also observed that female life expectancy is 3.26 years longer than for males in urban areas, and 1.38 years longer in rural areas.     

An analysis of major proximate determinants of our fertility]

The sample survey of fertility, in Shanghai city and Shanxi and Hebei provinces of China in 1985, provided plentiful data about fertility, marriage, contraceptive usage and breastfeeding in terms of The World Fertility Survey Model. The data, along with Bongaarts' model, was utilized to analyze the relation between several proximate determinants and fertility changes. When comparing these three geographic areas, the largest difference was breastfeeding and the smallest one was non- contraceptive usage. It was very different from the results of The World Fertility Survey in developing countries in 1977. The difference of marriage indexes among three areas was close to that of breastfeeding; but for the effects on induction of fertility, marriage index surpassed breastfeeding. There were two models showing effective efficacy on fertility decline. One was the Shanghai model, in which much more effect came from marriage delay, accounting for 71%; another was the Hebei model, induction of fertility was caused by contraceptive usage, about 53%. Both indicated that the major factor affecting fertility decline was the family planning program. Otherwise, it seemed to indicate that different factors such as social, economic development indirectly decreased fertility through family planning programs.     

Changes in the age dependence of mortality and disability: Cohort and other determinants

Though the general trend in the United States has been toward increasing life expectancy both at birth and at age 65, the temporal rate of change in life expectancy since 1900 has been variable and often restricted to specific population groups. There have been periods during which the age- and gender-specific risks of particular causes of death have either increased or decreased. These periods partly reflect the persistent effects of population health factors on specific birth cohorts. It is important to understand the ebbs and flows of cause-specific mortality rates because general life expectancy trends are the product of interactions of multiple dynamic period and cohort factors. Consequently, we first review factors potentially affecting cohort health back to 1880 and explore how that history might affect the current and future cohort mortality risks of major chronic diseases. We then examine how those factors affect the age-specific linkage of disability and mortality in three sets of birth cohorts assessed using the 1982, 1984, and 1989 National Long Term Care Surveys and Medicare mortality data collected from 1982 to 1991. We find large changes in both mortality and disability in those cohorts. providing insights into what changes might have occurred and into what future changes might be expected.