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Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart
Inequality: the enemy between us?
Richard Wilkinson
Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology
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3
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4
Income per head and life-expectancy: rich & poor countries
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
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‘‘Cross-country data show almost no relation
between changes in life expectancy and
economic growth over 10, 20, or 40-year time
periods between 1960 and 2000. Many
countries have shown remarkable
improvements in health with little or no
economic growth...’’
Cutler D, Deaton A, Lleras-Muney A. The Determinants
of Mortality. J Economic Perspectives 2006; 20: 97–
120.
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Life expectancy in rich countries is
no longer related to National Income per head
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70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
Local Neighbourhoods
(in England & Wales)
Lif
e e
xp
ec
tan
cy
(y
ea
rs)
Richest Poorest
Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Life expectancy is strongly related to
income within rich countries
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3.7 3.94.3
4.6 4.85.2 5.3
5.6 5.6 5.6 5.76.1 6.2
6.7 6.8 6.87.2
8.5
9.7
4.0
8.0
7.0
3.4
Jap
an
Fin
land
No
rway
Sw
eden
Denm
ark
Belg
ium
Au
str
iaG
erm
any
Neth
erl
ands
Sp
ain
Fra
nce
Canada
Sw
izte
rland
Irela
nd
Gre
ece
Italy
Isra
el
New
Zeala
nd
Au
stra
lia
UK
Po
rtugal
US
AS
ingap
ore
Income gaps
How many times richer
are the richest fifth than
the poorest fifth?
Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Inequality...
How much richer are the richest 20% in
each country than the poorest 20%?
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Health and social problems with social gradients
and internationally comparable data
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness – incl. drug &
alcohol addiction
• Social mobility
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Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Index of:
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness
– incl. drug &
alcohol
addiction
• Social mobility
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Health and social problems are worse
in more unequal countries
Ind
ex
of
he
alt
h a
nd
so
cia
l p
rob
lem
s
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Neither health nor social problems are
related to national income per head
Index of:
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness
– incl. drug &
alcohol
addiction
• Social mobility Ind
ex
of
he
alt
h a
nd
so
cia
l p
rob
lem
s
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Child well-being is better in more equal countries
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Child Wellbeing is not related to National Income per head
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Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk
People in more unequal countries
trust each other less
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Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk
People in more unequal states of
the USA trust each other less
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Mental illness is more common in
more unequal societies
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17
Infant Mortality Rates are Higher in More Unequal Countries
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
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0
30
60
90
120
150
180
Income Inequality
Ho
mic
ide
s p
er
millio
n p
eo
ple
Low High
Daly M, Wilson M, Vasdev S. Income inequality and homicide rates in Canada and the United States. Can J Crim 2001; 43: 219-36.
Homicide rates are higher in more unequal
US states and Canadian provinces
USA states
Canadian provinces
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Imprisonment rates are higher in
more unequal countries
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20
Teenage Birth Rates are Higher in More Unequal Rich Countries
Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009) www.equalitytrust.org.uk
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www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Social mobility is lower in more unequal countries
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Zheng H. Social Science & Medicine 2012; 75: 36-45.
Mo
rta
lity
: O
dd
s R
ati
o
Lag time - Years
Lag times: marginal impact of a 0.01-unit increase
in the Gini on individual mortality risk over time
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Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level
Index of:
• Life expectancy
• Math & Literacy
• Infant mortality
• Homicides
• Imprisonment
• Teenage births
• Trust
• Obesity
• Mental illness
– incl. drug &
alcohol
addiction
• Social mobility
www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Health and social problems are worse
in more unequal countries
Ind
ex
of
he
alt
h a
nd
so
cia
l p
rob
lem
s
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0
5
10
15
Single
mothers
Low HighFather's occupational class
Infa
nt
de
ath
s p
er
10
00 England & Wales
Sweden
Leon, D. A., D. Vagero, et al. (1992). "Social class differences in infant mortality
in Sweden: comparison with England and Wales." Brit Med J 305(6855): 687-91.
The benefits of greater equality are not confined
to the poor but extend to all social classes
Infant mortality by class: Sweden compared with England & Wales
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25
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.
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Income inequality
A naïve view: Inequality only matters if it creates
poverty or if income differences seem unfair.
A more accurate view: Inequality brings out
features of our evolved psychology to do with
dominance and subordination, superiority and
inferiority, which affect how we treat each other.
Inequality increases status competition and status
insecurity. It increases anxieties about self-worth,
and intensifies worries about how we are seen and
judged – whether as attractive or unattractive,
interesting or boring etc:
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Income inequality & bullying in 37 countries
Elgar FJ, Craig W, Boyce W, Morgan A, Vella-Zarb R. Income Inequality and School Bullying:
Multilevel Study of Adolescents in 37 Countries. J. Adolescent Health 2009; 45(4): 351-359 .
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Income differences increase social class differentiation
Bigger income differences:-
• Class becomes more important
• The social pyramid is higher
and more hierarchical
• The quality of social relations
deteriorates
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More
inequality
• More superiority and inferiority
• More status competition and consumerism
• More status insecurity
• More worry about
how we are seen and judged
• More “social evaluation anxiety”
(threats to self-esteem & social
status, fear of negative
judgements
Valued or
Devalued?
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Even low levels of stress raise death rates
Russ TC, Stamatakis E, Hamer M, Starr JM, Kivimäki M, Batty GD. Association between psychological
distress and mortality: pooled analysis of 10 prospective cohort studies. BMJ 2012; 345: e4933.
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31
Psychosocial risk factors for ill health
� Low social status
� Weak social connections
� Stress in early life (pre- and postnatally)
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0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
Other
tasks
Tasks with ‘social
evaluative threat’
(uncontrollable)
Co
rtis
ol re
sp
on
se
(eff
ect
siz
e)
Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol
responses. Psychological Bulletin 2004; 130(3): 355-91.
What kind of stressful tasks raise
stress hormones most?
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Loughnan S, et al. Economic Inequality is linked to biased self-perception.
Psychological Science, 2011; 22: 1254
Self enhancement increases in more unequal
societies
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Inequality data from World Top Incomes Database
Narcissism data from Twenge JM, et al., Journal of Personality 2008; 76(4): 875-901.
Na
rcis
sim
Sc
ore
(N
PI)
Rising Narcissism & Income Inequality in the USA
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What can be done?
Taxes & benefits
• Stop tax
avoidance
• End tax havens
• Make taxation
progressive
again
Income differences
before tax
• Stronger Trade
Unions
• Increase company
democracy -
employee
ownership etc
• Promote more
directors from
within companies
Sustainability needs
greater equality
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Mishel L, Sabadish N. Economic Policy Institute Brief #331. Washington, May 2012
Changing ratio of CEO pay to average pay of production &
non-supervisory workers in top 350 US companies
Between 1979-2007 the income of the:-
Top 0.1% increased by 362%
Top 1% increased by 156%
Bottom 90% increased by17%
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What should they earn?British Social Attitudes Survey 2010
Chairman of large
national company £100,000
Cabinet Minister £60,000
Unskilled Factory Worker £16,000
Shop Assistant £16,000
Ratio top to bottom 1 : 6.25
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Source: Atkinson AB, Leigh A. (2004) Understanding the Distribution of
Top Incomes in Anglo-Saxon Countries over the Twentieth Century
Income share of richest 1% in Anglo-Saxon countries 1921-2002
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UK
Japan
USA
UK
France
Japan
Share of income going to top 0.1% (1886-2010)
The World Top Incomes Database
Facundo Alvaredo, Tony Atkinson, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez
http://g-mond.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/topincomes
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Colin Gordon’s analysis of Historical Statistics for the US, unionstats.com, Piketty and
Saez 2003, and World Top Incomes Database. Economic Policy Institute, Washington DC.
Trade Unions membership (% workforce) and
Share of Income going to top 10% (USA, 1918-2008)
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Countries with stronger Trade Unions are less unequal
(data for 16 OECD countries 1966-1994)
Inequalit
y (
Gin
i )
% of labour force in trade unions
Gustafsson B, Johansson M. In search for a smoking gun: what makes income
inequality vary over time in different countries? LIS Working Paper 172; 1997.
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Extending democracy into economic life
has to be our central objective.
Companies make goods and services but must cease to be
systems for creating huge undemocratic concentrations of
wealth and power. Those are independent functions!
• Economic democracy turns companies from being pieces of
property into communities
• More democratic companies have much smaller pay
differences
• They transform the experience of work – sense of purpose,
self-worth, valued contribution
• Employee buyouts redistribute wealth and reduce unearned
income
• Boards can include community and consumer representative
as well as employees
• More democratic companies have higher productivity
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TUC pamphlet, Workers on Board, on
employee representation.
In 1960s most shares were owned by individuals with
a longer term interest in a few companies. ButR
Introduction from TUC Gen Sec Frances O’Grady:
“UK institutional investors2 spread their investments
across hundreds, if not thousands of companies,
increasingly relying on short-term share trading to
generated gains.”
Pamphlet author Janet Williamson: “the shareholders
of a large listed company will number in the
thousands (or) tens of thousands. 2it can be difficult
for a company even to get full information on who
owns their shares.”
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Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart
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46
and a websiteR
http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk
For more information
R a book (in 24 languages with different titles)