cyclical increases in income may raise mortality, even when the long-run effects of income are in the opposite direction. There … is no evidence that recent increases in inequality raised mortality beyond what it would otherwise have been …

Mortality rates have fallen dramatically over time, starting in a few countries in the 18th century, and continuing to … fall today. In just the past century, life expectancy has increased by over 30 years. At the same time, mortality rates … income per capita and mortality rates, a correlation that also exists within countries, where richer, better-educated people …

responsible for most of the mortality convergence observed between 1965 and 1995 …