Bill Gates takes rich to task

Jim Westrich westrich at miser.umass.edu
Mon Feb 4 15:07:12 PST 2002


I do remember you posting that. I have not examined it more closely but yeah any empirical research with macro variables is sure to be a mess. Adding that it is about health, a hopeless mess of confounding factors just makes it worse.

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



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