Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/312504 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Citation: 
[Journal:] The European Journal of Health Economics [ISSN:] 1618-7601 [Volume:] 24 [Issue:] 7 [Publisher:] Springer [Place:] Berlin, Heidelberg [Year:] 2023 [Pages:] 1235-1237
Publisher: 
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
Wildman ( 2 ), who identifies "a clear association between income inequality [measured by the Gini coefficient] and COVID-19 cases and deaths," concludes that "a goal of government should be to reduce [income] inequalities and [thereby] improve [the COVID-19 outcomes /] underlying health of their populations." In this Comment, we argue that reducing the Gini coefficient of the income distribution of a population need not weaken the population's social stress. It is this stress which is a source of adverse health outcomes of the population. Because a measure of this stress is a component of the Gini coefficient, reducing the coefficient can leave the measure as is, or even increase the measure.
Subjects: 
Income inequality
Gini coefficient
Social stress
Forming public health policy
JEL: 
D01
D63
D91
I10
I14
I31
Z18
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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