1. Inequalities in life and death : Income and mortality in an ageing population
- Author
-
Rehnberg, Johan and Rehnberg, Johan
- Abstract
Income serves as an indicator of success relative to others, and provides individuals with resources that strengthen their capability to face challenges and benefit from opportunities. Out of all social determinants of health, income is one of the strongest predictors of health outcomes. The positive association between income and health in the working-age population is well established; those with higher income tend to have better health. Less is known about the association between income and health among older persons. Several studies have observed that in old age, health inequalities decrease and the relationship between income and health weakens. However, at what point in the ageing process the association starts to weaken, and to what extent, is debated. The ageing process highlights the need for several theoretical considerations in studies on income and health. Societies are stratified by age, as manifested through transitions in and out of education, work, and retirement. Moreover, the individual experience of the ageing process involves biological processes of decline. Many health problems, and particularly death, are uncommon events during most of adulthood. In old age, however, health decline becomes a normative experience, and in Sweden, more than 90 percent of all deaths occur among people aged 65 or older. The characteristics and magnitude of age-related changes in the association between income and mortality constitute one of the prime concerns in this thesis. I have used two contending perspectives to understand the empirical results: the cumulative (dis)advantage theory and the age-as-leveler hypothesis. In this thesis, I have investigated the association between income and mortality across ages, with a focus on later life. More specifically, I studied the shape and magnitude of the income-mortality association across the life course. Furthermore, I tested two potential mechanisms that may shape this association in old age: health decline and mortal, At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.
- Published
- 2019