Inequality in Individual Mortality and Economic Conditions Earlier in Life

Gerard van den Berg, Maarten Lindeboom () and Marta López ()
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Marta López: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

No 2425, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We analyze the effect of being born in a recession on the mortality rate later in life in conjunction with social class. We use individual data records from Dutch registers of birth, marriage, and death certificates, covering the period 1815-2000, and we merge these with historical data on macro-economic outcomes and health indicators. We estimate duration models and inequality measures. The results indicate that being born in a recession increases the mortality rate later in life for most of the population. Lower social classes suffer disproportionally from being born in recessions. This exacerbates mortality inequality. This is not affected by social mobility: upward mobility does not vary much with the business cycle at birth. It turns out that the average long-run economic well-being of the family at birth, the transitory economic shocks at birth, and their interaction, are all relevant determinants of the mortality rate throughout the whole life.

Keywords: social inequality; lifetimes; life expectancy; recession; longevity; death; social class (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C41 E32 I12 J14 N13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2006-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - published in: Social Science and Medicine, 2009, 69 (9), 1360–1367

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Related works:
Journal Article: Inequality in individual mortality and economic conditions earlier in life (2009)
Working Paper: Inequality in individual mortality and economic conditions earlier in life (2007)
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