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Distributionally adjusted life expectancy as a life table function

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  • Francisco José Goerlich Gisbert

    (Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas - Ivie)

Abstract

This paper investigates alternative measures of life expectancy that take into account distributional considerations in the length of life of the generation in a period life table. Virtually all the literature studying inequality in the length of life distribution has used inequality tools from the income distribution analysis, focusing on life expectancy and inequality as separate, albeit related, issues. We propose an alternative, integrated framework that allows us to combine both dimensions in a single index, and provide an axiomatic derivation that delivers the particular indexes to be used given a set of axioms. We illustrate the proposed index using data from the Human Mortality Database. Este trabajo investiga medidas alternativas de esperanza de vida que tienen en cuenta aspectos distributivos en relación a la duración de la vida en la generación de una tabla de vida de periodo. La práctica totalidad de la literatura que estudio la desigualdad en el tiempo de vida utiliza el instrumental derivado de la medición de la desigualdad en la distribución de la renta, centrándose en la esperanza de vida y la desigualdad como aspectos separados, aunque relacionados. El trabajo propone un marco alternativo integrado que permite combinar ambas dimensiones en un único índice, y proporciona una derivación axiomática que conduce a una familia concreta de índices. Los índices propuestos se ilustran con una aplicación a partir de la Human Mortality Database.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco José Goerlich Gisbert, 2019. "Distributionally adjusted life expectancy as a life table function," Working Papers. Serie EC 2019-02, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    • Handle: RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2019-02
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-Marie Baland & Guilhem Cassan & Benoit Decerf, 2021. "The Poverty-Adjusted Life Expectancy index: a consistent aggregation of the quantity and the quality of life," DeFiPP Working Papers 2101, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    2. Francisco Goerlich, 2020. "Distributionally adjusted life expectancy as a life table function," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(14), pages 365-400.
    3. Da Costa, Shaun & O’Donnell, Owen & Van Gestel, Raf, 2024. "Distributionally sensitive measurement and valuation of population health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Esperanza de Vida; Tabla de Mortalidad; Índices de Duración; Duración de la Vida; Desigualdad Life expectancy; Life table; Duration; Indexes; Length of life; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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