Wealth has long been recognised as a key determinant of economic stability and social status, yet its role in shaping health outcomes has received relatively little attention compared to income. While income reflects short-term financial resources, wealth—comprising assets such as property, savings, pensions and investments—offers a more comprehensive picture of long-term financial security.
Wealth inequalities are usually greater than income disparities yet empirical research on the links between wealth and health outcomes has been limited, largely due to the complexities of collecting reliable data on assets and liabilities. Unlike income, which is routinely recorded through employment and taxation records, wealth is often harder to measure, as it includes various forms of ownership, investments, and debts.
Recent studies, particularly those utilising data from countries with wealth taxation, have begun to address this gap. One such study by Gugushvili & Wiborg published earlier this year in The Lancet (1) leverages nationwide Norwegian register data to explore the relationship between wealth and mortality. This is the focus of this Research Spotlight.
The study measured wealth at one point in adulthood (age 37-38) and then followed these individuals for many years to see how their wealth status early in life related to their risk of dying before age 62. It found that mortality rates for those with relatively low wealth holdings were substantially higher than those with relatively high wealth holdings. The study was also able to identify siblings and twins in the data, which provided an additional robustness check on unobservable factors that might have lifelong impacts, for example due to genetics or upbringing.
The article is open access and is also accompanied by an accessible comment piece authored by Balogh & Katikireddi (2). A further summary is therefore not required. Instead, this Research Spotlight focuses on the issues raised that feel most pertinent in the Scottish context.
Authors
Emma Congreve is Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow and Deputy Director at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Emma's work at the Institute is focussed on policy analysis, covering a wide range of areas of social and economic policy. Emma is an experienced economist and has previously held roles as a senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and as an economic adviser within the Scottish Government.