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High life expectancy and reversed socioeconomic gradients of elderly people in Mexico and Costa Rica

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  • Luis Rosero-Bixby

    (Universidad de Costa Rica)

Abstract

Background: Some existing estimates suggest, controversially, that life expectancy at age 60 (LE60) of Latin American males is exceptionally high. Knowledge of adult mortality in Latin America is often based on unreliable statistics or indirect demographic methods. Objective: This study aims to gather direct estimates of mortality at older ages in two Latin American countries (Mexico and Costa Rica) using recent longitudinal surveys and to determine the socioeconomic status (SES) gradients for LE60. Methods: Data were collected from independent panels of approximately 7,000 older adults followed over more than a decade ‒ the MHAS and CRELES surveys. The age-specific death rates were modeled with Gompertz regression, and thousands of life tables were simulated to estimate LE60 and its confidence interval. Results: LE60 estimates obtained from MHAS and CRELES are similar to those obtained from traditional statistics, confirming the exceptionally high LE60 of men in the two countries. The expected gradients of higher LE60 with higher SES are not present, especially among males, who even show reverse gradients (some exaggerated by data issues). Conclusions: Vital statistics correctly estimate elderly mortality in Mexico and Costa Rica. The higher-than-expected LE60 among Latin American males in general, and particularly among low-SES individuals, seems to be real; their determinants should be thoroughly investigated. Contribution: This study shows with hard, reliable data, independent of traditional statistics, that elderly males in tropical Latin America enjoy an exceptionally high life expectancy and that SES gradients are absent or even reverse.

Suggested Citation

  • Luis Rosero-Bixby, 2018. "High life expectancy and reversed socioeconomic gradients of elderly people in Mexico and Costa Rica," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(3), pages 95-108.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:38:y:2018:i:3
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.3
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luis Rosero-Bixby & William H. Dow, 2009. "Surprising SES Gradients in Mortality, Health, and Biomarkers in a Latin American Population of Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(1), pages 105-117.
    2. Kenneth Hill & Yoonjoung Choi & Ian Timæus, 2005. "Unconventional approaches to mortality estimation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 13(12), pages 281-300.
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    4. Cassio M. Turra & Noreen Goldman, 2007. "Socioeconomic Differences in Mortality Among U.S. Adults: Insights Into the Hispanic Paradox," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(3), pages 184-192.
    5. repec:wbk:wbpubs:13191 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Rofman, Rafael, 1994. "Diferenciales de mortalidad adulta en Argentina," Notas de Población, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), June.
    7. John Bongaarts & Griffith Feeney, 2002. "How Long Do We Live?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(1), pages 13-29, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hiram Beltran-Sanchez & Noreen Goldman & Anne Pebley & Josefina Flores Morales, 2020. "Calloused hands, shorter life? Occupation and older-age survival in Mexico," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(32), pages 875-900.
    2. Ana C. Gómez-Ugarte & Víctor M. García-Guerrero, 2023. "Inequality Crossroads of Mortality: Socioeconomic Disparities in Life Expectancy and Life Span in Mexico Between 1990 and 2015," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Anastasia A. Lam & Katherine Keenan & Genevieve Cezard & Hill Kulu & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Inequalities in disability-free and disabling multimorbid life expectancy in Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-002, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Dana Glei & Magali Barbieri & Carolina Santamaría-Ulloa, 2019. "Costa Rican mortality 1950‒2013: An evaluation of data quality and trends compared with other countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(29), pages 835-864.
    5. Luis Rosero-Bixby, 2023. "The vanishing advantage of longevity in Nicoya, Costa Rica: A cohort shift," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 49(27), pages 723-736.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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