IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aio/aucsse/v2y2020i48p5-17.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact Of Income Inequality On Mortality In The European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Gheorghița Dincă

    (Transilvania University of Brasov, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Brasov, Romania)

  • Camelia Negri

    (Transilvania University of Brasov, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Brasov, Romania)

  • Mariana Cassiana Ioniță

    (Transilvania University of Brasov, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Brasov, Romania)

Abstract

Our paper aims to determine the correlation between income inequality and mortality, within the European Union, using a fixed-effects regression model. We studied the influence of inequality on population health using a panel database, which includes the 28 Member States of the European Union, for the 2000-2018 period. After regressing our logarithmic variables and performing the main statistical tests, we determined that, as a whole, the explanatory variables considered in our model significantly influence life expectancy at birth, while at an individual level, only GDP per capita and the level of education have a significant influence on life expectancy variable. The statistical tests’ results show that, from a mathematical point of view, the Gini coefficient, which reflects income inequality, does not influence life expectancy at birth. However, the Gini coefficient was not excluded from the model, given the importance it has from a theoretical point of view.

Suggested Citation

  • Gheorghița Dincă & Camelia Negri & Mariana Cassiana Ioniță, 2020. "The Impact Of Income Inequality On Mortality In The European Union," Annals of University of Craiova - Economic Sciences Series, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 2(48), pages 5-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:aio:aucsse:v:2:y:2020:i:48:p:5-17
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://feaa.ucv.ro/annals/v2_2020/001.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ulf-G. Gerdtham & Magnus Johannesson, 2004. "Absolute Income, Relative Income, Income Inequality, and Mortality," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(1).
    2. Angus Deaton, 2003. "Health, Inequality, and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(1), pages 113-158, March.
    3. Leigh, Andrew & Jencks, Christopher, 2007. "Inequality and mortality: Long-run evidence from a panel of countries," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-24, January.
    4. Herzer, Dierk & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2015. "Income inequality and health: Evidence from developed and developing countries," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 9, pages 1-56.
    5. Mary C. Daly & Daniel J. Wilson, 2013. "Inequality and Mortality: New Evidence from U.S. County Panel Data," Working Paper Series 2013-13, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    6. Roberta Torre & Mikko Myrskylä, 2011. "Income inequality and population health: a panel data analysis on 21 developed countries," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2011-006, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    7. Lochner, K. & Pamuk, E. & Makuc, D. & Kennedy, B.P. & Kawachi, I., 2001. "State-level income inequality and individual mortality risk: A prospective, multilevel study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(3), pages 385-391.
    8. Dahl, Espen & Ivar Elstad, Jon & Hofoss, Dag & Martin-Mollard, Melissa, 2006. "For whom is income inequality most harmful? A multi-level analysis of income inequality and mortality in Norway," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2562-2574, November.
    9. Angus S. Deaton & Christina Paxson, 2004. "Mortality, Income, and Income Inequality over Time in Britain and the United States," NBER Chapters, in: Perspectives on the Economics of Aging, pages 247-286, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Wilkinson, Richard G & Pickett, Kate E., 2006. "Income inequality and population health: A review and explanation of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(7), pages 1768-1784, April.
    11. repec:pri:cheawb:deaton_paxson_mortality_ukus.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:pri:cheawb:deaton_paxson_mortality_ukus is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Mr. David Coady & Allan Dizioli, 2017. "Income Inequality and Education Revisited: Persistence, Endogeneity, and Heterogeneity," IMF Working Papers 2017/126, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Lochner, K. & Prothrow-Stith, D., 1997. "Social capital, income inequality, and mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(9), pages 1491-1498.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grönqvist, Hans & Johansson, Per & Niknami, Susan, 2012. "Income inequality and health: Lessons from a refugee residential assignment program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 617-629.
    2. Herzer, Dierk & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2015. "Income inequality and health: Evidence from developed and developing countries," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 9, pages 1-56.
    3. Owen O'Donnell & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Tom Van Ourti, 2013. "Health and Inequality," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-170/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    4. Dahl, Espen & Ivar Elstad, Jon & Hofoss, Dag & Martin-Mollard, Melissa, 2006. "For whom is income inequality most harmful? A multi-level analysis of income inequality and mortality in Norway," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2562-2574, November.
    5. Zheng, Hui, 2012. "Do people die from income inequality of a decade ago?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 36-45.
    6. Nisar Ahmad & Shahbaz Khan, 2021. "Impact of Income Inequality on Health Status in South Asian Countries: A Panel Data Analysis," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 205-219.
    7. Kang, Songman & Son, Hyelim & Song, B.K., 2023. "The effect of housing price inequality on mental health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Ken Judge & Iain Paterson, 2001. "Poverty, Income Inequality and Health," Treasury Working Paper Series 01/29, New Zealand Treasury.
    9. Rebeira, Mayvis & Grootendorst, Paul & Coyte, Peter C. & Aguirregabiria, Victor, 2017. "Does rising income inequality affect mortality rates in advanced economies?," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 11, pages 1-23.
    10. Luo, Weixiang & Xie, Yu, 2020. "Economic growth, income inequality and life expectancy in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    11. B. d'Hombres & L. Rocco & M. Suhrcke & M. McKee, 2010. "Does social capital determine health? Evidence from eight transition countries," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(1), pages 56-74, January.
    12. Petri Böckerman, 2013. "Top Income Shares and Mortality: Evidence from Advanced Countries," Journal of Income Distribution, Ad libros publications inc., vol. 22(1), pages 57-69, March.
    13. Leon-Gonzalez, Roberto & Tseng, Fu Min, 2011. "Socio-economic determinants of mortality in Taiwan: Combining individual and aggregate data," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 23-36, January.
    14. Rostila, Mikael & Kölegård, Maria L. & Fritzell, Johan, 2012. "Income inequality and self-rated health in Stockholm, Sweden: A test of the ‘income inequality hypothesis’ on two levels of aggregation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(7), pages 1091-1098.
    15. Chen, Zhuo & Meltzer, David, 2008. "Beefing up with the Chans: Evidence for the effects of relative income and income inequality on health from the China Health and Nutrition Survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2206-2217, June.
    16. Zheng, Hui & Choi, Yoonyoung & Dirlam, Jonathan & George, Linda, 2022. "Rising childhood income inequality and declining Americans’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    17. Biggs, Brian & King, Lawrence & Basu, Sanjay & Stuckler, David, 2010. "Is wealthier always healthier? The impact of national income level, inequality, and poverty on public health in Latin America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 266-273, July.
    18. Wong, Irene O.L. & Cowling, Benjamin J. & Lo, Su-Vui & Leung, Gabriel M., 2009. "A multilevel analysis of the effects of neighbourhood income inequality on individual self-rated health in Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 124-132, January.
    19. Dierk Herzer, 2017. "The Long-run Relationship Between Trade and Population Health: Evidence from Five Decades," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 462-487, February.
    20. Vincent Hildebrand & Philippe Kerm, 2009. "Income inequality and self-rated health status: Evidence from the european community household panel," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(4), pages 805-825, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; mortality; Gini coefficient; panel data; fixed effects regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aio:aucsse:v:2:y:2020:i:48:p:5-17. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anca Bandoi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fecraro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.