Abstract
The income inequality hypothesis claims that in rich societies inequality causes a range of health and social problems (henceforth: social ills), e.g. because economic inequality induces feelings of status anxiety and corrodes social cohesion. This paper provides an encompassing test of the income inequality hypothesis by exploring levels and breeding conditions of social ills in 40 affluent countries worldwide, as well as pathways for a subsample of wealthy European countries. Our aggregate-level research is based on a revised and updated Index of Social Ills inspired by Wilkinson and Pickett’s book The Spirit Level, which we compile for both more countries (40) and more years (2000–2015) and combine with survey information about experienced quality-of-life as potential mediators. We get three major results: First, cross-sectionally income inequality is indeed strongly and consistently related to social ills, but so is economic prosperity. Second, while longitudinally changes in inequality do not result in changing levels of social ills, rising prosperity effectively reduces the amount of social ills, at least in Europe. Finally, whereas the cross-sectional analysis indicates that aspects of social cohesion most consistently mediate between economic conditions and social ills, the longitudinal mediation analyses could not ultimately clarify through which pathway rising prosperity reduces social ills. Overall we conclude that the income inequality hypothesis is, at best, too narrow to fully understand health and social problems in rich countries.
Highlights
Growing income inequality in the majority of affluent countries has prompted social scientists to ask why income inequality is increasing (Rohrbach 2009; Dafermos and Papatheodorou 2013), and what the consequences are
The inequality hypothesis has recently been popularized by Wilkinson and Pickett’s (2010) famous book, The Spirit Level, which embraces a broad range of health and social problems
By examining the impact of economic conditions on a broad range of social ills for 40 rich countries for the period 2000–2015, this study represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive examination of the famous inequality hypothesis. This is the first aggregate-level study in which a larger number of potential mediators between economic conditions and social ills has been put to an empirical test
Summary
Growing income inequality in the majority of affluent countries has prompted social scientists to ask why income inequality is increasing (Rohrbach 2009; Dafermos and Papatheodorou 2013), and what the consequences are. Rodgers 1979; Ben-Shlomo et al 1996; Davey Smith 1996), the inequality hypothesis has since broadened to include other social problems. The inequality hypothesis has recently been popularized by Wilkinson and Pickett’s (2010) famous book, The Spirit Level, which embraces a broad range of health and social problems.. The wider the income gap within nations, it is argued, the more a society is plagued by various social ills, ranging from low life expectancy to obesity to homicide. This message reinforces a growing sentiment among both social scientists and the general public that greater wealth is no longer conducive to social progress and human wellbeing (Easterlin and Angelescu 2012; Skidelsky and Skidelsky 2013; Offer 2006)
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