Poorer is riskier.

To examine the relationship between economic well being and health status, two economic concepts were explored: the permanent-income hypothesis and the transitory-income hypothesis. A regression analysis of time-series mortality data for the period of 1950-1988 was conducted. The regression results indicated that the total mortality rate is negatively associated with permanent income and positively associated with the transitory income. Results are also reported for the 8 major causes of death in the United States. The implications for risk analysis are discussed.