Life expectancy differences increasing – the richest live over ten years longer than the poorest

Despite decades of income equalisation and welfare reforms, health disparities in Sweden continue to widen. A new study shows that the difference in predicted life expectancy between those with the highest and lowest incomes has more than tripled since the 1960s.

Researchers have analysed the relationship between income and life expectancy in Sweden during the period 1962–2021, and the results show that the gap in predictedlife expectancy has increased significantly. Among men, the difference between those with the lowest and highest incomes has increased from about 3.5 years in the 1960s to almost eleven years in the 2010s. For women, the difference has increased from 3.8 to 8.6 years during the same period.

Estimates also show that there is no clear link between income and health equality.

"In recent decades, both income and health inequality have increased in parallel, but the major equalisation of income distribution from the early 1960s to the late 1980s coincided with a continued increase in health inequality. Even the expansion of the welfare state during the same period, where increased public spending benefited those with lower incomes to a greater extent, coincided with increased health inequality," says Johannes Hagen, Associate Professor of Economics at Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University (JU).

Lifestyle changes play a major role

The study questions the so-called absolute income hypothesis – the idea that increased economic resources in themselves lead to better health.

"Life expectancy in the upper part of the income distribution has increased faster than one would expect based on cross-sectional differences in predicted life expectancy between groups with different levels of income," says Lisa Laun, Associate Professor of Economics at the Institute for Labour Market and Education Policy Evaluation (IFAU).

Instead, they highlight lifestyle changes and how different groups absorb health information as more decisive factors.

Previous studies have shown, for example, that those with higher incomes consumed significantly more tobacco and alcohol than low-income groups during the first part of the studied period. Over time, the difference has decreased, and today smoking is more common among those with lower incomes.

"Our study shows that differences in mortality before the age of 75 between income groups have increased particularly for causes of death that could have been avoided through preventive measures. For example, through better diet, reduced smoking, and increased physical activity," says Mårten Palme, Professor of Economics at Stockholm University (SU).

This means that high-income groups have not only had better resources but have also adopted healthier habits more quickly, which has resulted in longer lives.