Does income inequality have lasting effects on health and trust?

Jesper Jelle Rözer; Beate Volker

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.047

Does income inequality have lasting effects on health and trust?

Soc Sci Med. 2016 Jan:149:37-45. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.047. Epub 2015 Nov 30.

Authors

Jesper Jelle Rözer¹, Beate Volker²

Affiliations

¹ Dept. of Sociology, Amsterdam University, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.j.rozer@uva.nl.
² Dept. of Sociology, Amsterdam University, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

PMID: 26704353
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.047

Abstract

According to the income inequality hypothesis, income inequality is associated with poorer health. One important proposed mechanism for this effect is reduced trust. In this study, we argue that income inequality during a person's formative years (i.e., around age 16) may have lasting consequences for trust and health. Multilevel analyses of data from the combined World Values Survey and European Values Study that were collected between 1981 and 2014 support our prediction and show that income inequality is associated with ill health in young adults, in part because it reduces their social trust. The negative consequences of income inequality remain stable for a substantial period of life but eventually fade away and have no effect after age 36.

Keywords: Income inequality; Perceived health; Period and cohort effects; Social trust.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Female
Health Status Disparities*
Humans
Income / statistics & numerical data*
Male
Middle Aged
Multilevel Analysis
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust*
Young Adult