ABSTRACT
Despite a plethora of studies on income inequality and health, researchers have been
unable to make any firm conclusions as a result of methodological and theoretical
limitations. Within this body of research, there has been a call for studies of wealth
inequality and health. Wealth is far more unequally distributed than income and is
conceptually unique from income. This chapter discusses the results of bivariate
cross-sectional analyses of the relationship between wealth inequality (Gini coefficient)
and population health (life expectancy and infant mortality) in 14 wealthy countries. The
results confirm that wealth inequality is associated with poor population health. Both
unweighted and weighted correlations between wealth inequality and health are strong and
significant, even after controlling for a variety of potential aggregate-level confounders,
including gross domestic product per capita, and after excluding the United States, the
most unequal country. The results are strongest for female life expectancy and infant
mortality. The author outlines potential pathways through which wealth inequality might
affect health, using specific countries to illustrate. The chapter concludes with policy
recommendations that could contribute to a more equitable distribution of wealth and,
ultimately, decreased health disparities.
