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Perception has its Own Reality: Subjective versus Objective Measures of Economic Distress
Author(s) -
Glei Dana A.,
Goldman Noreen,
Weinstein Maxine
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
population and development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.836
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1728-4457
pISSN - 0098-7921
DOI - 10.1111/padr.12183
Subject(s) - perception , content (measure theory) , distress , psychology , social psychology , computer science , economics , mathematics , clinical psychology , mathematical analysis , neuroscience
THERE IS no doubt that economic inequality in the US has increased over the last several decades (Piketty, Saez, and Zucm 2016; Congressional Budget Office 2013). Diminished labor market opportunities and the ensuing decline in (inflation-adjusted) economic fortunes for the least educated Americans have been blamed for initiating a cascade of consequences culminating in rising mortality related to drugs, alcohol, and suicide (Case and Deaton 2017; 2015)—collectively referred to as “deaths of despair” (Khazan 2015; Case 2015; Monnat 2016). The health effects are evident in overall mortality as well: socioeconomic disparities in life expectancy have widened dramatically over this period (Chetty et al. 2016b; Bosworth, Burtless, and Zhang 2016), particularly among non-Latino whites (Olshansky et al. 2012; Sasson 2016). Beyond its effects on health, inequality can have farreaching consequences for society as a whole, for example, by compromising social trust and cohesion and jeopardizing the effectiveness of social institutions (Kawachi and Berkman 2000; Kawachi et al. 1997). Indeed, arguments related to growing inequality have been invoked to explain many of the worrisome trends not only in mortality, but in a broader range of health outcomes, as well as social and political phenomena. Socioeconomic disparities are typically measured in terms of objective criteria such as education, income, wealth, and unemployment. Although there is a large literature on subjective social status (the “social ladder”) and its effects on health (Ostrove et al. 2000; Singh-Manoux et al. 2003; Adler et al. 2000), few studies have incorporated subjectivemeasures of economic distress. Both constructs are subjective: perceived economic distress is based on the respondents’ evaluations of their financial and employment circumstances; the “social ladder” asks respondents how they would rank themselves relative to others. In this analysis, we focus only on perceived