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Income Inequality and Health: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries

Author

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  • Dierk Herzer

    (Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg)

  • Peter Nunnenkamo

    (Kieler Institut für Weltwirtschaft)

Abstract

We assess the effect of income inequality on life expectancy by performing separate estimations for developed and developing countries. Our empirical analysis challenges the widely held view that inequality matters more for health in richer countries than for health in poorer countries. Employing panel cointegration and conventional panel regressions, we find that income inequality increases life expectancy in developed countries. By contrast, the effect on life expectancy is significantly negative in developing countries. While the quantitative effects are small, the striking contrast between the two country groups proves to be robust to modifications in measurement, specification and methodological choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Dierk Herzer & Peter Nunnenkamo, 2014. "Income Inequality and Health: Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries," Working Paper 141/2014, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:vhsuwp:2014_141
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    Cited by:

    1. Jionghua Wang & Bo Huang & Ting Zhang & Hung Wong & Yifan Huang, 2018. "Impact of Housing and Community Conditions on Multidimensional Health among Middle- and Low-Income Groups in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Dierk Herzer, 2016. "Unions and Income Inequality: A Heterogeneous Panel Co-integration and Causality Analysis," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 30(3), pages 318-346, September.
    3. Zhiheng Chen & Yuting Ma & Junyi Hua & Yuanhong Wang & Hongpeng Guo, 2021. "Impacts from Economic Development and Environmental Factors on Life Expectancy: A Comparative Study Based on Data from Both Developed and Developing Countries from 2004 to 2016," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-18, August.
    4. Tonmoy Chatterjee & Nilendu Chatterjee, 2022. "Does Innovation Make Nations More Healthy? Evidence from Developing and Developed Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 3296-3325, December.
    5. Kangmennaang, Joseph & Smale, Bryan & Elliott, Susan J., 2019. "‘When you think your neighbour's cooking pot is better than yours’: A mixed-methods exploration of inequality and wellbeing in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    6. Tonmoy Chatterjee & Soumyananda Dinda & Nilendu Chatterjee & Ghirmai Tesfamariam Teame, 2024. "Trade Liberalization’s Influence on Health Status in Developing Economies: Theoretical Insights and Real-World Implications," Journal of Economic Development, The Economic Research Institute, Chung-Ang University, vol. 49(3), pages 1-31.
    7. Micheal Kofi Boachie & K. Ramu & Tatjana Põlajeva, 2018. "Public Health Expenditures and Health Outcomes: New Evidence from Ghana," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-25, October.
    8. 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, vol. 9, pages 1-56.
    9. Junfeng Jiang, 2023. "Heterogeneous Influence of Socioeconomic Inequality on Population Health: A Cross-national Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 1109-1124, October.
    10. 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, vol. 11, pages 1-23.
    11. Das Minakshee, 2020. "Does Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Promote Socioeconomic Development? Evidence from Advanced, Emerging-market, Developing and Transition Economies," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-25, June.
    12. Ozdamar, Oznur & Giovanis, Eleftherios, 2016. "Being Healthy in Turkey: A Pseudo-Panel Data Analysis," MPRA Paper 95838, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Swapnanil SenGupta, 2024. "Human Capital Impacts of Income Inequality: An Extensive Empirical Analysis from the African Continent," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    14. 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.
    15. Boachie, Micheal Kofi, 2015. "Effect of health on economic growth in Ghana:An application of ARDL bounds test to cointegration," MPRA Paper 67201, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Zhizhong Liu & Guangyue Liu & Xu Han & Yingna Chen, 2022. "Green Technology of Foreign Direct Investment on Public Health: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    17. 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.
    18. Nisar Ahmad & Moodhi Raid & Jumah Alzyadat & Hisham Alhawal, 2023. "Impact of urbanization and income inequality on life expectancy of male and female in South Asian countries: a moderating role of health expenditures," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Christine Mayrhuber & Matthias Firgo & Hans Pitlik & Alois Guger & Ewald Walterskirchen, 2018. "Sozialstaat und Standortqualität," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61006.
    20. Tonmoy Chatterjee & Ghirmai Tesfamariam Teame & Sharmi Sen, 2024. "Impact of income inequality on health and education in Africa: the long-run role of public spending with short-run dynamics," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 259-304, April.
    21. 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.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

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

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