Mortality, the Social Environment, Crime and Violence

Abstract

Starting out from the relationship between income equality and indicators of social cohesion and social trust, this paper explores the social processes which might account for the relationship between greater income equality and lower population mortality rates. We note that: homicide shows an even closer relationship to income inequality than does mortality from all other causes combined; there are several reports that homicide rates are particularly closely related to all cause mortality; and that there is a growing body of research on crime in relation to social disorganisation. We use US state level data to examine the relationships between various categories of income inequality, median state income, social trust and mortality. The data suggest that violent crime, but not property crime, is closely related to income inequality, social trust and mortality rates, excluding homicide. The second half of the paper is devoted to literature on the antecedents of violence. Feeling shamed, humiliated and disrespected seem to be central to the picture and are plausibly related to the way in which wider income differences are likely to mean more people are denied access to traditional sources of status and respect. We suggest that these aspects of low social status may be central to the psychosocial processes linking inequality, violence, social cohesion and mortality.