Abstract
BackgroundIncome inequality is one of the important reflections of the unbalanced development of the world economy and can have adverse effects on physical and mental health.MethodsThis article used the 2018 China Family Panel Studies Database as an empirical analysis data source. The Kakwani index (KI) was used to measure income inequality, and social capital was broken into cognitive social capital and structural social capital. Our assessment was conducted by using STATA16 software for ordered logistic regression, verifying income inequality, social capital on correlation between physical and mental health firstly; then by gradual regression methods to verify intermediary effect, and demonstrate the social capital as an intermediary variable affecting physical and mental health as income inequality.ResultThe income inequality has a significant negative effect on physical and mental health (β = − 0.964, − 0.381; OR = 0.382, 0.758; P < 0.01), Social capital has a significant effect on physical and mental health (Cognitive SC(MH): β = 0.146 and 0.104, OR = 1.157 and 1.110, P < 0.01; Cognitive SC(PH): β = 0.046 and 0.069, OR = 1.047 and 1.071, P < 0.01; Structural SC(MH): β = − 0.005, 0.025 and 0.015, OR = 0.995, 1.025 and 1.015, P > 0.1, P < 0.01 and P < 0.01; Structural SC(PH): β = − 0.026, 0.009 and − 0.013, OR = 0.975, 1.009 and 0.987, P < 0.01, P > 0.1 and P < 0.01). Our analysis also showed that social capital (cognitive social capital and structural social capital) has an intermediary effect on physical and mental health due to income inequality.ConclusionThis study shows that income inequality can not only directly affect physical and mental health, but also through social capital intermediary utility indirectly affect physical and mental health, social capital has positive effects on physical and mental health. At the same time, income inequality and social capital’s effects on physical and mental health exist regional differences, urban-rural differences, and gender differences. Therefore, in the development of special policies to support and take care of vulnerable groups, special attention needs to be paid to poor rural areas and female groups.
Highlights
According to the 2020 World Social Report of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, issues of inequality remain endemic in both developed- and developing- countries
The impact of income inequality on physical and mental health The data in column (1) of Tables 2 and 3 both show that the coefficient of effect of IIequality on PH and MH is significantly negative (MH: β = − 0.962, OR = 0.382; PH: β = − 0.280, OR = 0.756; P < 0.01)
This study has demonstrated the positive effect of social capital (SC) on PH and MH and shown that the coefficients of the five SC indicators are positive in most circumstances, suggesting the correlation of SC with the PH and MH
Summary
According to the 2020 World Social Report of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, issues of inequality remain endemic in both developed- and developing- countries. Income inequality (IIequality) is the main problem, which is the reflection of unbalanced economic development [1, 2]. Current researches on IIequality are concentrated more in the group level [13, 14] and national level [7, 15], but relatively few at a personal level. Income inequality is one of the important reflections of the unbalanced development of the world economy and can have adverse effects on physical and mental health
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