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Has Mortality Risen Disproportionately for the Least Educated?

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  • Adam Leive
  • Christopher J. Ruhm

Abstract

We examine whether the least educated population groups experienced the worst mortality trends during the 21st century by measuring changes in mortality across education quartiles. We document sharply differing gender patterns. Among women, mortality trends improved fairly monotonically with education. Conversely, male trends for the lowest three education quartiles were often similar. For both sexes, the gap in average mortality between the top 25 percent and the bottom 75 percent is growing. However, there are many groups for whom these average patterns are reversed – with better experiences for the less educated – or where the differences are statistically indistinguishable.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Leive & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2020. "Has Mortality Risen Disproportionately for the Least Educated?," NBER Working Papers 27512, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27512
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    Cited by:

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    3. Angus Deaton, 2022. "The great divide: education, despair, and death," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 161-168, October.
    4. Bavafa, Hessam & Mukherjee, Anita & Welch, Tyler Q., 2023. "Inequality in the golden years: Wealth gradients in disability-free and work-free longevity in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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