ANALYZING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INCOME INEQUALITY AND MORTALITY INEQUALITY

Abstract

This research examines the association between income inequality and mortality inequality. Analysis was drawn on statistics from a sample of 178 countries. This was broken down into three sub-samples comprising 107 countries forming a global sample with both developing and developed countries; a second sample of 34 OECD member countries; while the developing/low income sample comprised of 44 countries from Africa, Sub Saharan region. Econometric estimation was based on a fixed effects model that controlled for year and country- level time-variant and time-invariant factors. The research found a strong positive and statistically significant association between income inequality and mortality inequality and a weaker association with other confounding variables. Therefore, income inequality cannot be singled out as the only key driver of mortality inequality, while gender inequality in mortality is not influenced by income inequality. Thus, policies to reduce mortality inequality would require that modelling social policy be broad based.