Are Just Societies Healthier? The Importance of Growth, Education and Distribution for Health

From an international vantage point, Austria is a relatively egalitarian society. When it comes to the ratio of top to bottom incomes, Austria is among the five countries with the lowest spread. Other distribution measures similarly find Austria at about the same level as the Scandinavian countries. At a constant rate of just over 12 percent, the risk of poverty is below average. Participation in education is to a large extent inherited. Yet education and its distribution determine opportunities, life expectancy rates and health: university graduates can expect to live three to six more healthy years than do those of compulsory education only.