> Stephen Black drew attention to: > >> A remarkable graphical display of economic progress at >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo >>
Rosling fails to point out one of the most significant aspects of the data: almost all of the increases life expectancy come between incomes of $400 and $4000. Only relatively small increases occur between $4000 and $40,000 (which is, as Jim earlier noted, TEN TIMES as much of an increase in income). This is in line with the conclusions of the book I was "pushing" a few weeks ago: _The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone_. More important than just life expectancy, the same thing is roughly true for any measure of the quality of life. We appear to have reached something of a ceiling in the ability of money to improve the quality of our lives. Sure, it's great to have your own monster house or yacht or airplane, but the increase in happiness it produces, on a dollar for dollar basis, is minuscule compared to what the first few thousand dollars of income does for one's life. What does seem to produce big increases in quality of life measures, even for those at the top of the income scale, is living in more equal societies. I know -- these are nearly unsayable words in today's America (but then again, evolution by natural selection is almost unsayable as well). Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 chri...@yorku.ca http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=7206 or send a blank email to leave-7206-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
