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  • RESEARCH BRIEFINGS

Economic inequality does not equate to poor well-being or mental health

A meta-analysis of 168 studies covering more than 11 million people found no reliable link between economic inequality and well-being or mental health. In other words, living in a place that has large gaps between the rich and poor does not affect these outcomes, with implications for policy.

This is a summary of: Sommet, N. et al. No meta-analytical effect of economic inequality on well-being or mental health. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09797-z (2025).

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03833-8

‘Expert opinion’ is published under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

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