Wilkinson's book is appears to be pretty interesting, though written in 1996. His metrics showed life expectancy is lower in developed countries with a wider dispersion of incomes and improves more slowly during periods when income differences widen. I will take a closer look (only just got ahold of the book and he has published more on the subject since).
Peace,
Jim
At 05:23 PM 2/4/02, you wrote:
>Jim Westrich wrote:
>
>>"Not only is the cost of inequality the cost we incur for no economic
>>benefit, but all indications are that it imposes a substantial economic
>>burden which reduces the competitiveness of the whole society."
>>
>> -Richard Wilkinson, *Unhealthy Societies: The
>> Afflictions of Inequality*
>
>Actually this seems not to be true. Christopher Jencks told me he could
>make the effect appear or disappear just by tweaking the specifications of
>his model - changing the dates covered, adding or omitting variables, etc.
>Too bad.
"The microbe is nothing; the terrain, everything."
Louis Pasteur