02210cam a22002417 4500001000600000003000500006005001700011008004100028100001900069245008900088260006600177490004100243500001500284520125200299530006101551538007201612538003601684690006701720710004201787830007601829856003701905856002601942w8318NBER20140710094202.0140710s2001 mau||||fs|||| 000 0 eng d1 aDeaton, Angus.10aHealth, Inequality, and Economic Developmenth[electronic resource] /cAngus Deaton. aCambridge, Mass.bNational Bureau of Economic Researchc2001.1 aNBER working paper seriesvno. w8318 aJune 2001.3 aI explore the connection between income inequality and health in both poor and rich countries. I discuss a range of mechanisms, including nonlinear income effects, credit restrictions, nutritional traps, public goods provision, and relative deprivation. I review the evidence on the effects of income inequality on the rate of decline of mortality over time, on geographical pattens of mortality, and on individual-level mortality. Much of the literature needs to be treated skeptically, if only because of the low quality of much of the data on income inequality. Although there are many puzzles that remain, I conclude that there is no direct link from income inequality to ill-health; individuals are no more likely to die if they live in more unequal places. The raw correlations that are sometimes found are likely the result of factors other than income inequality, some of which are intimately linked to broader notions of inequality and unfairness. That income inequality itself is not a health risk does not deny the importance for health of other inequalities, nor of the social environment. Whether income redistribution can improve population health does not depend on a direct effect of income inequality and remains an open question. aHardcopy version available to institutional subscribers. aSystem requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files. aMode of access: World Wide Web. 7aI12 - Health Production2Journal of Economic Literature class.2 aNational Bureau of Economic Research. 0aWorking Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research)vno. w8318.4 uhttp://www.nber.org/papers/w8318 uurn:doi:10.3386/w8318