IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/exehis/v94y2024ics0014498324000482.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Access to kin, economic stress, and late-life mortality in North Orkney, Scotland, 1851–1911

Author

Listed:
  • Jennings, Julia A.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects of kin availability and short-term economic stress on mortality among older adults in North Orkney, Scotland in the mid-19th through early 20th century. The mortality of those aged 60+ is associated with high oatmeal prices lagged by one year, a delayed effect that may suggest that buffering mechanisms are less effective in the longer term or that relative to younger groups, older adults are better able to cope with the immediate effects of stress. Associations between mortality risk and indicators of kin availability vary by individual sociodemographic characteristics, but they are limited to close kin in both the spatial and genealogical sense. Benefits of nearby, but not coresident kin accrue only to ever-married men during times of high food prices. Coresident and nearby kin are associated with complex patterns of mortality risk, suggesting that family relationships may represent a resource in some circumstances, but a liability in others. There is limited evidence for the effects of expansive kin support for aging adults and support flows do not always favor the older generation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennings, Julia A., 2024. "Access to kin, economic stress, and late-life mortality in North Orkney, Scotland, 1851–1911," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:94:y:2024:i:c:s0014498324000482
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2024.101622
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014498324000482
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eeh.2024.101622?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Due, Pernille & Holstein, Bjørn & Lund, Rikke & Modvig, Jens & Avlund, Kirsten, 1999. "Social relations: network, support and relational strain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 661-673, March.
    2. Fogel, Robert W. & Grotte, Nathaniel, 2011. "Major Findings from The Changing Body: Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World since 1700," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 1-9.
    3. Roderick Floud & Robert W. Fogel & Bernard Harris & Sok Chul Hong, 2011. "The Changing Body: Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World since 1700," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number foge10-1, March.
    4. Robert Fogel & Dora Costa, 1997. "A theory of technophysio evolution, with some implications for forecasting population, health care costs, and pension costs," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 34(1), pages 49-66, February.
    5. Hodrick, Robert J & Prescott, Edward C, 1997. "Postwar U.S. Business Cycles: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, February.
    6. Matt A. Nelson, 2020. "The decline of patrilineal kin propinquity in the United States, 1790–1940," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(18), pages 501-532.
    7. Robert Fogel & Dora Costa, 1997. "Erratum to: A theory of technophysio, with come implications for forecasting population, health care costs, and pension costs," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 34(2), pages 1-1, May.
    8. Rosalind Mitchison, 1965. "The Movements of Scottish Corn Prices in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 18(2), pages 278-291, August.
    9. Matteo Manfredini & Marco Breschi, 2013. "Living Arrangements and the Elderly: An Analysis of Old-Age Mortality by Household Structure in Casalguidi, 1819–1859," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1593-1613, October.
    10. Morten O. Ravn & Harald Uhlig, 2002. "On adjusting the Hodrick-Prescott filter for the frequency of observations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 371-375.
    11. Tommy Bengtsson & Cameron Campbell & James Z. Lee, 2004. "Life Under Pressure: Mortality and Living Standards in Europe and Asia, 1700-1900," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262025515, December.
    12. Jason T. Newsom & Karen S. Rook & Masami Nishishiba & Dara H. Sorkin & Tyrae L. Mahan, 2005. "Understanding the Relative Importance of Positive and Negative Social Exchanges: Examining Specific Domains and Appraisals," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 60(6), pages 304-312.
    13. Tommy Bengtsson & Martin Dribe, 2006. "Deliberate control in a natural fertility population: Southern Sweden, 1766–1864," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(4), pages 727-746, November.
    14. Steven Ruggles, 2009. "Reconsidering the Northwest European Family System: Living Arrangements of the Aged in Comparative Historical Perspective," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 249-273, June.
    15. Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Timothy B Smith & J Bradley Layton, 2010. "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-1, July.
    16. Gibson,A. J. S. & Smout,T. C., 2007. "Prices, Food and Wages in Scotland, 1550–1780," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521037808, June.
    17. Julia A. Jennings & Luciana Quaranta & Tommy Bengtsson, 2017. "Inequality and demographic response to short-term economic stress in North Orkney, Scotland, 1855–1910: Sector differences," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(3), pages 313-328, September.
    18. Richard H. Steckel, 2008. "Biological Measures of the Standard of Living," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 129-152, Winter.
    19. Robert W. Fogel & Nathaniel Grotte, 2011. "An Overview of The Changing Body: Health, Nutrition, and Human Development in the Western World Since 1700," NBER Working Papers 16938, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Steven Ruggles, 2010. "Stem Families and Joint Families in Comparative Historical Perspective," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(3), pages 563-577, September.
    21. Seeman, Teresa E. & Berkman, Lisa F., 1988. "Structural characteristics of social networks and their relationship with social support in the elderly: Who provides support," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 26(7), pages 737-749, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marco-Gracia, Francisco J. & Puche, Javier, 2021. "The association between male height and lifespan in rural Spain, birth cohorts 1835-1939," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    2. Marco-Gracia, Francisco J. & González-Esteban, Ángel Luis, 2021. "Did parental care in early life affect height? Evidence from rural Spain (19th-20th centuries)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    3. Galofré Vilà, Gregori, 2020. "Quantifying the impact of aid to dependent children: An epidemiological framework⁎," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. José Joaquín García-Gómez & Juan Diego Pérez-Cebada, 2020. "A Socio-Environmental History of a Copper Mining Company: Rio-Tinto Company Limited (1874–1930)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Meisel-Roca, Adolfo & Ramírez-Giraldo, María Teresa & Santos-Cárdenas, Daniela, 2019. "Long run relationship between biological well being, and economic development in Colombia," Working papers 24, Red Investigadores de Economía.
    6. Gregori Galofré-Vilà & Martin McKee & David Stuckler, 2022. "Quantifying the mortality impact of the 1935 old-age assistance," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 26(1), pages 62-77.
    7. Enrique Acosta & Alain Gagnon & Nadine Ouellette & Robert R. Bourbeau & Marilia R. Nepomuceno & Alyson A. van Raalte, 2020. "The boomer penalty: excess mortality among baby boomers in Canada and the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-003, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Elena Sánchez-García & José-Miguel Martinez-Carrión & Jose Manuel Terán & Carlos Varea, 2021. "Biological Well-Being during the “Economic Miracle” in Spain: Height, Weight and Body Mass Index of Conscripts in the City of Madrid, 1955–1974," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady, 2015. "Daycare Services: It’s All about Quality," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady (ed.), The Early Years, chapter 4, pages 91-119, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Komlos, John, 2019. "Shrinking in a growing economy is not so puzzling after all," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 40-55.
    11. Pierre Leviaux & Antoine Parent, 2018. "The biological hypothesis in cliometrics of growth: a methodological critique of Fogel (post 1982) and Ashraf & Galor (2013)," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 929-950, September.
    12. M. Caridad Araujo & Yyannu Cruz-Aguayo & Analia Jaimovich & Sharon Lynn Kagan, 2015. "Drawing Up an Institutional Architecture," IDB Publications (Book Chapters), in: Samuel Berlinski & Norbert Schady (ed.), The Early Years: Child Well-Being and the Role of Public Policy, edition 1, chapter 7, pages 179-202, Inter-American Development Bank.
    13. Santiago-Caballero, Carlos, 2021. "The gender gap in the biological living standard in Spain. A study based on the heights of an elite migration to Mexico, 1840-1930," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    14. Kopinska, Joanna & Atella, Vincenzo & Bhattacharya, Jay & Miller, Grant, 2024. "The changing relationship between bodyweight and longevity in high- and low-income countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    15. Tommy Bengtsson & Martin Dribe & Jonas Helgertz, 2020. "When Did the Health Gradient Emerge? Social Class and Adult Mortality in Southern Sweden, 1813–2015," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 953-977, June.
    16. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Female and Male Body Mass, Height, and Weight during US Economic Development: 1860s-1930s," CESifo Working Paper Series 8447, CESifo.
    17. Inwood, Kris & Oxley, Les & Roberts, Evan, 2022. "The mortality risk of being overweight in the twentieth century: Evidence from two cohorts of New Zealand men," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    18. Hannaliis Jaadla & Ellen Potter & Sebastian Keibek & Romola Davenport, 2020. "Infant and child mortality by socio‐economic status in early nineteenth‐century England," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(4), pages 991-1022, November.
    19. Enrique Acosta & Stacey A. Hallman & Lisa Y. Dillon & Nadine Ouellette & Robert Bourbeau & D. Ann Herring & Kris Inwood & David J. D. Earn & Joaquin Madrenas & Matthew S. Miller & Alain Gagnon, 2019. "Determinants of Influenza Mortality Trends: Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of Influenza Mortality in the United States, 1959–2016," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(5), pages 1723-1746, October.
    20. Francisco J. Marco-Gracia & Javier Puche, 2020. "Did taller people live longer? Influence of height on life span in rural Spain, 1835-2019," Working Papers 0201, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Living standards; Old age; Mortality; Scotland; Kinship; Social support;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:94:y:2024:i:c:s0014498324000482. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622830 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.