SOC220H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, Status Anxiety, Gini Coefficient
Document Summary
We will investigate whether income inequality is associated with : community health, mental health, physical health. Throughout this presentation income inequality is measured with the gini coefficient. It can be difficult to determine whether difference in inequality cause difference in the extent of social problems. Higher income inequality isn"t associated with lower trust cross-nationally. The usa is a very heterogeneous country in terms of both inequality and trust. States with higher levels of inequality have lower levels of trust. Higher inequality is consistently associated with lower levels of trust. With greater inequality, people may become less caring and feell compelled to focus on themselves, leading to lower levels of trust. Trust is important because it leads to greater cooperation, respect, and tolerance; to improved health outcomes; and to helping behavior. Example: the 1995 chicago heat wave: old people should not have been dying in the numbers they were, it really wasn"t that bad.
