Relative income, race, and mortality

Area of Science:

• Socioeconomic Determinants of Health
• Public Health Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Recent literature suggests relative income, not just absolute income, impacts health outcomes.
• The hypothesis is that lower relative income within a reference group correlates with poorer health.
• This study investigates the link between neighborhood income and individual mortality risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically model the relationship between an individual's health, their own income, and the income of their geographical reference group.
• To estimate this model using semi-aggregated mortality data.
• To determine if relative income influences mortality rates.

Main Methods:

• Developed an empirical model linking individual health to own income and neighborhood income.
• Utilized semi-aggregated mortality data from the 1980 and 1990 Compressed Mortality Files.
• Merged mortality data with 1980 and 1990 US Census 5% Public Use sample income data.

Main Results:

• No evidence found that wealthier neighbors increase mortality risk when individual income is held constant.
• Found that for certain groups, particularly working-aged Black males, wealthier neighbors are associated with lower mortality.
• Quantified a significant beneficial effect on mortality for younger Black men (25-64) from increased neighborhood income.

Conclusions:

• The impact of relative income on mortality is complex and group-specific.
• Findings challenge the notion that social comparison of income universally harms health.
• Relative income may confer protective health benefits for specific demographic groups.