Obesity and Income Inequality in OECD Countries

2015 ◽  
pp. 484-500
Author(s):  
Dejun Su
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Absolute Income ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Over Time

Countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) exhibit substantial increases in both income inequality and obesity prevalence since the 1970s. Income inequality may affect obesity through increased psychosocial distress, concentrated poverty, erosion of social cohesion, and inadequate policy interventions. Substantial variations appear in estimated obesity prevalence across OECD countries in 2010. Particularly important are the United States and Mexico, which lead OECD countries in current obesity rates, income inequality, and the pace of increases in obesity prevalence over time. When both countries are included in the analysis, differences in obesity prevalence are more related to differences in income inequality than to differences in absolute income across these countries. This association between income inequality and obesity prevalence virtually disappears when both countries are excluded from analysis. So far, limited research exploring the association between income inequality and obesity has not yielded conclusive, unequivocal findings.

INCOME INEQUALITY AND OBESITY PREVALENCE AMONG OECD COUNTRIES

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEJUN SU ◽  
OMAR A. ESQUEDA ◽  
LIFENG LI ◽  
JOSÉ A. PAGÁN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oecd Countries ◽  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

SummaryUsing recent pooled data from the World Health Organization Global Infobase and the World Factbook compiled by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, this study assesses the relation between income inequality and obesity prevalence among 31 OECD countries through a series of bivariate and multivariate linear regressions. The United States and Mexico well lead OECD countries in both obesity prevalence and income inequality. A sensitivity analysis suggests that the inclusion or exclusion of these two extreme cases can fundamentally change the findings. When the two countries are included, the results reveal a positive correlation between income inequality and obesity prevalence. This correlation is more salient among females than among males. Income inequality alone is associated with 16% and 35% of the variations in male and female obesity rates, respectively, across OECD countries in 2010. Higher levels of income inequality in the 2005–2010 period were associated with a more rapid increase in obesity prevalence from 2002 to 2010. These associations, however, virtually disappear when the US and Mexico have been excluded from the analysis. Findings from this study underscore the importance of assessing the impact of extreme cases on the relation between income inequality and health outcomes. The potential pathways from income inequality to the alarmingly high rates of obesity in the cases of the US and Mexico warrant further research.

scholarly journals Combating COVID-19 with Charisma: Evidence on Governor Speeches and Physical Distancing in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Jensen ◽  
Dominic Rohner ◽  
Olivier Bornet ◽  
Daniel Carron ◽  
Phillip Garner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Laboratory Experiment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Individual Behavior ◽  
Smart Phones ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Anonymized Data ◽  
Over Time

We show that governor charisma can affect individual behavior to help mitigate COVID-related outcomes. We provide evidence in the field using deep neural ratings of charisma of governor speeches over time to explain physical distancing based on anonymized data from smart phones. We also show in an incentivized laboratory experiment that individuals who are conservative are more responsive to charismatic appeals of a governor, which drives their beliefs on whether their co-citizens will physically distance; these beliefs in turn appear to affect their behavior too. Interestingly, liberals are unaffected by charisma, as a result of their preference to physically distance regardless. These findings are important because they show that a learnable skill—or at least one that can be honed—can give leaders an additional weapon to complement policy interventions for pandemics, especially with certain populations who may need a “nudge,” and hence save lives.

Capital and Philanthropy

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-263
Author(s):  
Morgan Clark ◽  
Chien-Chung Huang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Charitable Giving ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asset Size ◽  
Wealthy Donors ◽  
Over Time

This paper examines charitable giving from wealthy individuals in both the United States and China. It assesses the motivations of wealthy donors and analyzes the donation trends from the top fifty philanthropists in the last decade in both countries. The data depicts that in both the United States and China, asset size increases more rapidly than donation rates over time. Capitalism offers a possible way to advance social development; however, increasing income inequality may damage the advancement. While substantial philanthropic engagement from wealthy individuals may be an important mechanism to balance capitalism and income inequality, the data indicates that collective sharing of capital continues to have room to further develop.

County Reclassifications and Rural–Urban Mortality Disparities in the United States (1970–2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (12) ◽  
pp. 1814-1816
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Brooks ◽  
J. Tom Mueller ◽  
Brian C. Thiede
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Urban Classification ◽  
Mortality Disparities ◽  
Over Time

Objectives. To demonstrate how inferences about rural–urban disparities in age-adjusted mortality are affected by the reclassification of rural and urban counties in the United States from 1970 to 2018. Methods. We compared estimates of rural–urban mortality disparities over time, produced through a time-varying classification of rural and urban counties, with counterfactual estimates of rural–urban disparities, assuming no changes in rural–urban classification since 1970. We evaluated mortality rates by decade of reclassification to assess selectivity in reclassification. Results. We found that reclassification amplified rural–urban mortality disparities and accounted for more than 25% of the rural disadvantage observed from 1970 to 2018. Mortality rates were lower in counties that reclassified from rural to urban than in counties that remained rural. Conclusions. Estimates of changing rural–urban mortality differentials are significantly influenced by rural–urban reclassification. On average, counties that have remained classified as rural over time have elevated mortality. Longitudinal research on rural–urban health disparities must consider the methodological and substantive implications of reclassification. Public Health Implications. Attention to rural–urban reclassification is necessary when evaluating or justifying policy interventions focusing on geographic health disparities.

Income Inequality, Mobility, and Turnover at the Top in the US, 1987–2010

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Auten ◽  
Geoffrey Gee ◽  
Nicholas Turner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Over Time

While cross-sectional data show increasing income inequality in the United States, it is also important to examine how incomes change over time. Using income tax data, this paper provides new evidence on long-term and intergenerational mobility, and persistence at the top of the income distribution. Half of those aged 35-40 in the top or bottom quintile in 1987 remain there in 2007; the others have moved up or down. While 30 percent of dependents aged 15-18 from bottom quintile households are themselves in the bottom quintile after 20 years, most have moved up. Persistence is lower in the highest income groups.

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