Book · 2009 · intro level
The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better
Richard Wilkinson, Kate Pickett
- Venue
- Allen Lane (UK) / Bloomsbury Press
- Link
- publisher / source page
Citation count not independently verified
We only publish a number when we have checked it ourselves. None was confirmed for this work at the last review.
Contested finding
Methodologically contested — critics (e.g., Christopher Snowdon/IEA, and academic reviewers) argue the correlations are sensitive to country selection and do not establish causation. Present as an influential argument, not an uncontested finding.
In plain language
Cross-national data showing that above a basic income threshold, a country's level of inequality predicts life expectancy, mental illness, obesity, teen births, homicide, and trust better than its wealth does.
Technical summary
Correlational cross-national analysis linking income-inequality levels (not absolute income) to a wide range of social outcome indicators, arguing status anxiety and weakened social cohesion are the causal mechanism.
Key takeaways
- Among the most publicly influential inequality books of the past two decades.