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Inequality in mortality between Black and White Americans by age, place, and cause and in comparison to Europe, 1990 to 2018

Author

Listed:
  • Hannes Schwandt

    (School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208)

  • Janet Currie

    (Department of Economics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540)

  • Marlies Bär

    (Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • James Banks

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies, London WC1E 7AE, United Kingdom; Department of Economics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom)

  • Paola Bertoli

    (Department of Economics, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy)

  • Aline Bütikofer

    (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, 5045, Norway)

  • Sarah Cattan

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies, London WC1E 7AE, United Kingdom)

  • Beatrice Zong-Ying Chao

    (School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208)

  • Claudia Costa

    (Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, 3004-531, Coimbra, Portugal)

  • Libertad González

    (Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Veronica Grembi

    (Department of Economics, Management, and Quantitative Methods, University of Milan, 20122 Milano, Italy)

  • Kristiina Huttunen

    (Department of Economics, Aalto University School of Business, 02150 Espoo, Finland)

  • René Karadakic

    (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, 5045, Norway)

  • Lucy Kraftman

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies, London WC1E 7AE, United Kingdom)

  • Sonya Krutikova

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies, London WC1E 7AE, United Kingdom)

  • Stefano Lombardi

    (VATT Institute for Economic Research, 00100 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Peter Redler

    (Department of Economics, University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany)

  • Carlos Riumallo-Herl

    (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Ana Rodríguez-González

    (Department of Economics, Lund University, SE-220 07 Lund, Sweden)

  • Kjell G. Salvanes

    (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, 5045, Norway)

  • Paula Santana

    (Centre of Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Coimbra, 3004-531, Coimbra, Portugal)

  • Josselin Thuilliez

    (CNRS, Centre d’économie de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 1, 75013 Paris, France)

  • Eddy van Doorslaer

    (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Tom Van Ourti

    (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Joachim K. Winter

    (Department of Economics, University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany)

  • Bram Wouterse

    (Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Amelie Wuppermann

    (Department of Economics, University of Halle, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany)

Abstract
Although there is a large gap between Black and White American life expectancies, the gap fell 48.9% between 1990 and 2018, mainly due to mortality declines among Black Americans. We examine age-specific mortality trends and racial gaps in life expectancy in high- and low-income US areas and with reference to six European countries. Inequalities in life expectancy are starker in the United States than in Europe. In 1990, White Americans and Europeans in high-income areas had similar overall life expectancy, while life expectancy for White Americans in low-income areas was lower. However, since then, even high-income White Americans have lost ground relative to Europeans. Meanwhile, the gap in life expectancy between Black Americans and Europeans decreased by 8.3%. Black American life expectancy increased more than White American life expectancy in all US areas, but improvements in lower-income areas had the greatest impact on the racial life expectancy gap. The causes that contributed the most to Black Americans’ mortality reductions included cancer, homicide, HIV, and causes originating in the fetal or infant period. Life expectancy for both Black and White Americans plateaued or slightly declined after 2012, but this stalling was most evident among Black Americans even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. If improvements had continued at the 1990 to 2012 rate, the racial gap in life expectancy would have closed by 2036. European life expectancy also stalled after 2014. Still, the comparison with Europe suggests that mortality rates of both Black and White Americans could fall much further across all ages and in both high-income and low-income areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannes Schwandt & Janet Currie & Marlies Bär & James Banks & Paola Bertoli & Aline Bütikofer & Sarah Cattan & Beatrice Zong-Ying Chao & Claudia Costa & Libertad González & Veronica Grembi & Kristiina , 2021. "Inequality in mortality between Black and White Americans by age, place, and cause and in comparison to Europe, 1990 to 2018," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118(40), pages 2104684118-, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:118:y:2021:p:e2104684118
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2021. "Life expectancy in adulthood is falling for those without a BA degree, but as educational gaps have widened, racial gaps have narrowed," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118(11), pages 2024777118-, March.
    2. Barry P. Bosworth & Kan Zhang, 2015. "Evidence of Increasing Differential Mortality: A Comparison of the HRS and SIPP," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2015-13, Center for Retirement Research.
    3. Anne Case & Angua Deaton, 2015. "Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century," Working Papers 15078.full.pdf, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
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    Cited by:

    1. Breen, Casey & Goldstein, Joshua R., 2022. "Berkeley Unified Numident Mortality Database: Public Administrative Records for Individual-Level Mortality Research," SocArXiv pc294, Center for Open Science.
    2. Janjala Chirakijja & Seema Jayachandran & Pinchuan Ong, 2024. "The Mortality Effects of Winter Heating Prices," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(657), pages 402-417.
    3. Breen, Casey & Seltzer, Nathan, 2023. "The Unpredictability of Individual-Level Longevity," SocArXiv znsqg, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    life expectancy; racial divide; area-level socioeconomic status; international comparison; age-specific mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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