Equality of opportunity is linked to lower mortality in Europe

Abstract

BackgroundThis study investigates if intergenerational equality of opportunity is linked to mortality in 30 European countries. Equality of opportunity may lead to greater returns on health investments and, consequently, improved health outcomes. In turn, a perceived lack of fairness in the distribution of life chances and limited possibilities for upward intergenerational mobility can cause anxiety among individuals and gradually compromise their health.MethodsWe used information on 163 467 individuals’ and their parents’ Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status from a large survey data set—the European Social Survey—to generate three complementary measures of equality of opportunity. We then linked these to administrative data on total, gender-specific and cause-specific mortality rates assembled by Eurostat from the national statistical offices.ResultsWe found that lower equality of opportunity, measured by the attainment of individuals from the lowest and highest quartiles of socioeconomic status and by the overall intergenerational correlation in socioeconomic status, was related to higher mortality rates, particularly in relation to diseases of the nervous system and the sense organs, diseases of the respiratory system and external causes of mortality. Our measures of equality of opportunity were more consistently linked with mortality of men than women.ConclusionEquality of opportunity may be an important explanation of mortality that warrants further research. Measures that aim at facilitating intergenerational social mobility can be justified not only via normative considerations of equality of opportunity but also in terms of individuals’ chances to enjoy healthy lives.

Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health behaviours across 32 different countries – The role of country-level social mobility

“…This echoes previous studies showing that more egalitarian societies (e.g. in terms of social mobility (Gugushvili and Kaiser, 2020), and income equality (Pickett and Wilkinson, 2015)) often feature better overall population health, even whilst health inequalities in such countries are not necessarily smaller (Mackenbach, 2012;Simons et al, 2013). Country-level social mobility therefore also seems to be related to health behaviours in the whole population of adolescents rather than specifically those from low-affluent families.…”

What are the Trends and Explanations of Perceived Social Mobility in Poland?

“…There is an increasing interest in trends in, explanations for, and wellbeing consequences of intergenerational social mobility across social science disciplines (Bukodi et al, 2020;Chetty et al, 2017;Gugushvili & Kaiser, 2020;Song et al, 2020). This interest is largely motivated by normative concerns for equality of opportunity and policy measures that can be employed to make societies fairer and more just (Ludwinek et al, 2017;Narayan et al, 2018).…”

Information About Inequality of Opportunity Increases Downward Mobility Perceptions: A Population-Wide Randomized Survey Experiment

“…In future research, the experiment presented in this article on the effect of information about (in)equality of opportunity on the perception of being socially mobile can be replicated across country contexts or in various localities within countries that are characterized with different levels of inequality ( Hauser and Norton, 2017 ; Solt, 2020 ). The latter is important because the perceptions of social mobility levels together with perceived own social mobility and future prospects of upward mobility can affect and motivate individuals’ persistence in academic and occupational realms, their health and wellbeing outcomes, and dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country ( Ritterman Weintraub et al, 2015 ; Browman et al, 2017 ; Gugushvili and Kaiser, 2020 ; Heiserman et al, 2020 ).…”