Income-related mortality inequality and macroeconomic conditions

This study examines the relationship between income-related health inequality (IRHI) and macroeconomic conditions. We complement an income group-based analysis of the impact of macroeconomic conditions on mortality by incorporating an analysis of the concentration index as a comprehensive measure of overall IRHI. Using a recentered influence function regression approach, we estimate the impact of macroeconomic conditions on mortality and its inequality over two decades of dramatically different macroeconomic environments in Sweden. We utilise individual-level administrative data on the entire male population aged 20-44 over the years 1979-2000. Our findings reveal nuanced dynamics. During the relatively stable macroeconomic period of the 1980s, mortality rates and their inequality remained largely unaffected by macroeconomic conditions. However, the macroeconomic turbulence of the 1990s generally increased mortality inequality, although not uniformly across all measures. This underscores the importance of using various inequality measures in empirical studies.