@article{121586, author = {Dana A. Glei and Noreen Goldman and Maxine Weinstein}, title = {Perception Has Its Own Reality: Subjective Versus Objective Measures of Economic Distress}, abstract = { 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){\textemdash}collectively referred to as {\textquotedblleft}deaths of despair{\textquotedblright} (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, inequality1~can have far-reaching 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. }, year = {2018}, journal = {Population and Development Review}, volume = {44}, pages = {695-722}, language = {eng}, }