The Canada-U.S. comparison is compelling because Canada has the more egalitarian income distribution. Income inequality has also been increasing in the U.S. but between 1985 and 1995 income inequality actually decreased in Canada because of the buffers of taxation and transfer policies.

We looked at the inequality-mortality relationship within age groups -

infants, children and youth, working age and elderly and we found that this to be really important. The relationship is much stronger for working age and younger populations and attenuates for the elderly.