Income Inequality and Population Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Cause for Concern?

This paper develops a panel regression model to study the relationship between income inequality and population health indicators in developing countries. In particular, I test whether a developing country\u27s income inequality is correlated with its life expectancy at birth or infant mortality rate after controlling for country and time fixed effects, average income levels, female education, and public health spending. I also test whether this relationship is different for developing and developed countries. Contrary to the predictions of the Absolute Income Hypothesis and the previous developing country cross-sectional and panel data studies, my results show no correlation between income inequality and life expectancy at birth or infant mortality rate and therefore provide preliminary evidence that income inequality does not predict population health outcomes in developing countries. My results also suggest that this relationship is not significantly different for developing versus developed countries