Richard Wilkinson - The Institute of Employment Rights Spirit Level Slides - R... · 2 Income per...

1

Richard Wilkinson Emeritus Professor of

Social Epidemiology

University of Nottingham

&

Kate Pickett Professor of Epidemiology

University of York

http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk

http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/

2

Income per head and life-expectancy: rich & poor countries

Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk

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Among the rich countries life expectancy is not related to

national differences in average income


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…but life expectancy is related to income

within rich societies

Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

70

71

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73

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75

76

77

78

79

80

Lea

st dep

rive

d

Mos

t de

prive

dElectoral wards in England & Wales by deprivation score

Lif

e e

xp

ec

tan

cy

(y

ea

rs

)

www.equalitytrust.org.uk

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How much richer are the richest

20% than the poorest 20%?

www.equalitytrust.org.uk Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

7

Index of:

• Life expectancy

• Math & Literacy

• Infant mortality

• Homicides

• Imprisonment

• Teenage births

• Trust

• Obesity

• Mental illness – incl.

drug & alcohol

addiction

• Social mobility

Health and Social Problems are Worse in More Unequal Countries


8

Health and Social Problems are not Related to Average

Income in Rich Countries

Index of:

• Life expectancy

• Math & Literacy


• Homicides

• Imprisonment

• Teenage births

• Trust

• Obesity


drug & alcohol

addiction

• Social mobility


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Child Well-being is Better in More Equal Rich Countries


10

Child-Wellbeing is Unrelated to Average Incomes in Rich

Countries


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Levels of Trust are Higher in More Equal Rich Countries


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Levels of Trust are Higher in More Equal US States


13

The Prevalence of Mental Illness is Higher in More

Unequal Rich Countries


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Infant Mortality Rates are Higher in More Unequal Countries


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Drug Use is More Common in More Unequal Countries


Index of use of: opiates, cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines


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Teenage Birth Rates are Higher in More Unequal Rich Countries


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Homicide and income inequality:

US States and Canadian Provinces

0

30

60

90

120

150

180

0.35 0.38 0.41 0.44 0.47

Income Inequality (Gini)

Ho

mic

ide

s p

er

millio

n p

eo

ple

More equal More unequal

Source: Daly M, Wilson M, Vasdev S. Income inequality and homicide rates in

Canada and the United States. Canadian Journal of Criminology 2001; 43: 219-36.

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Rates of Imprisonment are Higher in More Unequal Countries


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Social mobility is higher in more equal countries


Intergenerational income mobility data from: Blanden J. (2009)

Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. Paper No' CEEDP0111.

Indicator International data US data

r p-value r p-value

Trust -0.66 <0.01 -0.70 <0.01

Life expectancy -0.44 0.04 -0.45 <0.01

Infant mortality 0.42 0.04 0.43 <0.01

Obesity 0.57 <0.01 0.47 <0.01

Mental illness 0.73 <0.01 0.18 0.12

Education score -0.45 0.04 -0.47 .01

Teen birth rate 0.73 <0.01 0.46 <0.01

Homicides 0.47 0.02 0.42 <0.01

Imprisonment 0.75 <0.01 0.48 <0.01

Social mobility 0.93 <0.01 - -

Index 0.87 <0.01 0.59 <0.01

Correlations & p-values: Index of Health & Social Problems

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Almost everyone benefits from

greater equality.

Usually the benefits are greatest

among the poor but extend to the

majority of the population

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Infant Mortality by Social Class:

Sweden and England & Wales

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

I II IIIN IIIM IV V Single

Prnt

Unclass.

E & W

Sweden

Source: Leon DA, Vagero D, Olausson PO. BMJ 1992; 305; 687-91

Infa

nt

Mo

rtality

rate

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Literacy Scores of 16-25 year olds by

Parents' Education

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Parents' Education (years)

Lit

era

cy s

co

re

Sweden

Canada

United States

Source: Willms JD. 1997. Data from OECD Programme for International Student Assessment.

24

Index of:

• Life expectancy

• Math & Literacy


• Homicides

• Imprisonment

• Teenage births

• Trust

• Obesity


drug & alcohol

addiction

• Social mobility

Health and Social Problems are Worse in More Unequal Countries


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Psychosocial risk factors for ill health

Low social status

Weak social affiliations

Stress in early life (pre- and postnatally)

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ACTH

Cortisol

Tasks with both

social-evaluative

threat and

uncontrollability

Other tasks

Effect siz

e

Source: Dickerson SS & Kemeny ME. Psychological Bulletin 2004; 130(3): 355-91

What kind of stress most reliably raises cortisol levels?

“Not a test of ability”

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13 High SES

Low SES

“Test of ability”

Effect of stereotype threat: Verbal GRE: high & low SES

Croizeta JC; Dutrevis M. Socioeconomic Status and Intelligence. J Poverty 2004; 8(3): 91-107.

Nu

mb

er

of

item

s c

orr

ect

“Not a test of ability”

5

6

7

8

9

10 High SES

Low SES

“Test of ability”

Effect of stereotype threat

Advanced Progressive Matrices Test: high & low SES

Croizeta JC; Dutrevis M. Socioeconomic Status and Intelligence. J Poverty 2004; 8(3): 91-107.

Nu

mb

er

of

item

s c

orr

ect

29

Stereotype Threat

The effect of caste identity on children's performance

Caste

Unannounced

Caste

Announced

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

High Caste

Low Caste

Nu

mb

er

of m

aze

s s

olv

ed

Source: Hoff K, Pandey P, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3351, June 2004

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Gilligan J. Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and its Causes. (G .P. Putnam 1996)

" ...the prison inmates I work with have told me repeatedly,

when I asked them why they had assaulted someone, that it

was because 'he disrespected me', or 'he disrespected my

visit' (meaning 'visitor'). The word 'disrespect' is central in the

vocabulary, moral value system, and psychodynamics of

these chronically violent men that they have abbreviated it

into the slang term, 'he dis'ed me." p.106

A few pages further on Gilligan continues:-

"I have yet to see a serious act of violence that was not

provoked by the experience of feeling shamed and humiliated,

disrespected and ridiculed, and that did not represent the

attempt to prevent or undo this "loss of face " - no matter how

severe the punishment, even if it includes death." p.110

Source: Bowles S, Park Y. Economic Journal 2005; 115 (507): F397–F412. 2005.

Working hours are longer in more unequal countries

Inequality and household debt (as % of financial assets)

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Australia

Austria

Belgium Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

UK

USA

Worse

Better

UN

ICE

F in

de

x o

f child

well-

bein

g

0 10 20 30Lone parents as % of all households with dependent children

Single parents and child wellbeing

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The effects of inequality - a two stage process

1. adult experience of inequality

2. passed on to children – epigenetics?

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Inequality (Gini) Great Britain 1961 - 2008

The public and policy response?

more:-

Police

Doctors

Social Workers

Drug rehabilitation units

Educational Psychologists

But…services are expensive and only partially effective.

37

http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk

For more information:

… a book

and a website…

Social Status and Friendship

Two sides of the same coin:

Social status (dominance hierarchies, pecking

orders) are orderings based on power,

coercion and privileged access to resources –

regardless of the needs of others.

Friendship, in contrast, is based on

reciprocity, mutuality, social obligations,

sharing and a recognition of each other’s

needs.

Dunbar R. Brains on two legs: group size and the evolution

of intelligence In: Tree of Origin: F de Waal. (ed) 2001.

The Social Brain: the neocortex is a larger proportion of

the brain in primate species with larger social groups A

vera

ge

so

cia

l g

rou

p s

ize

Neocortex ratio


Wo

rld

avera

ge

CO

2

More equal countries are more generous foreign aid donors

Business leaders in more equal countries give a higher priority

to complying with international environmental agreements

With permission from R De Vogli & D Gimeno

More equal countries recycle more waste


Australia

France

Germany

Italy

Japan

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

UK

USA

Best

Worst

Re

cyclin

g (

avera

ge

ra

nk)

Low HighIncome Inequality

Twenge JM, Baumeister RF, DeWall CN, Ciarocco NJ, Bartels JM. Social exclusion decreases prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2007; 92(1): 56-66.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

$ donated

Experiments

Pencils pickd up

Prisnr's Dilem 1

Prisnr's Dilem 2

Prisnr's Dilem 3

$ donated

Future alone/rejected

Future belonging/accepted

Social exclusion decreases prosocial behaviour: 7 experiments

46

Why are we so sensitive to inequality?

Trends in income inequality 1979-2005/6

(Gini coefficient, Great Britain.)

Brewer M, Goodman A, Muriel A, Sibieta L. Poverty and

Inequality in the UK: 2007. Institute of Fiscal Studies, London.

48

Inequality Debt

Debt

P. Krugman Inequality and Crisis: coincidence or causation?

Data from: Picketty-Saez, Historical Statistics, Federal Reserve.

Inequality and Household Debt 1913-2007 H

ou

se

ho

ld d

eb

t a

s %

of

inc

om

e

Ine

qu

ali

ty:

ric

he

st

1%

sh

are

More equal societies are more innovative


50

More Adults are Obese in More Unequal Rich Countries


Children Experience More Conflict in More Unequal Societies


11, 13 & 15 yr olds fighting, bullying, and finding peers not kind & helpful


More Children Drop Out of High School in More Unequal US States


Cognitive Score: Socioeconomic status more important than starting point

High Cognitive Score at 22 months

Low Cognitive Score at 22 months

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Child’s age (years)

Co

gn

itiv

e s

co

re

perc

en

tile

po

sit

ion

at

each

ag

e

(I Feinstein. Inequality in cognitive development. 1970 British Births. Economica 2003; 70: 3-97)

(from The Marmot Review 2010)

Educational Scores are Higher in More Equal Rich

Countries


The changing relation between life expectancy and income.

Reproduced from World Bank, World Development Report 1993

0102030405060708090

100

Nations States,

Regions,

Cities

Small areas

Wholly SupportiveUnsupportive

Review of 168 analyses of the relation

between income inequality and health.

Per

cen

t

Wilkinson RG, Pickett KE. Income inequality and health: a review

and explanation of the evidence. Social Science and Medicine

2006; 62: 1768-84.

58 Source: Bagehot, On equality. The Economist, 19th August 2010

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