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Inequalities in longevity by education in OECD countries: Insights from new OECD estimates

Author

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  • Fabrice Murtin
  • Johan Mackenbach

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Domantas Jasilionis
  • Marco Mira d’Ercole

Abstract

This paper assesses inequality in longevity across education and gender groups in 23 OECD countries around 2011. Data on mortality rates by age, gender, educationals attainment and for, 17 countries, cause of death, were collected from national sources, with similar treatment applied to all countries in order to derive comparable measures of longevity at age 25 and 65 by gender and education. These estimates show that, on average, the gap in life expectancy between high and low-educationed people is 8 years for men and 5 years for women at age 25 years, and 3.5 years for men and 2.5 years for women at age 65. Other measures of inequalities in longevity by education (such as country averages of age-standardised mortality rates and the slope index of inequality) do not significantly change the inequality ranking of countries relative to one based on life expectancy measures. While significant, differences in longevity between groups with low and high educational attainment account, on average, for around 10% of overall differences in ages of death. Cardio-vascular diseases are the first cause of death for all gender and education groups after age 65 years, and the first cause of mortality inequality between the high and low-education elderly. Ce document estime les inégalités de longévité par genre et niveaux d’éducation pour 23 pays de l’OCDE aux alentours de 2011. Des données de taux de mortalité par âge, sexe, éducation et, pour 17 pays, par cause de mortalité, ont été collectées à partir de sources statistiques nationales. Un traitement identique a été appliqué à toutes ces données afin d'obtenir des mesures comparables de longévité à 25 et 65 ans par sexe et niveau d’éducation. Ces estimations montrent que, en moyenne, les différences d’espérance de vie à 25 ans entre les personnes à haut et faible niveaux d’éducation sont de 8 ans pour les hommes et de 5 ans pour les femmes, alors que ces différences sont de 3.5 ans pour les hommes et de 2.5 ans pour les femmes à l’âge de 65 ans. D'autres mesures d’inégalité de longévité par niveau d’éducation (tels que les taux moyens de mortalité standardisés ou les indices de pente d’inégalité) fournissent globalement le même classement de pays en termes d’inégalité, par rapport aux indices basés sur l’espérance de vie. Toutefois les différences de longévité entre haut et faible niveaux d’éducation expliquent seulement 10% des differences d’âge à la mort parmi les personnes. Les maladies cardio-vasculaires sont la première cause de mortalité pour tous les groupes d’éducation et de genre après 65 ans, et la première cause d’inégalité de mortalité entre les seniors à haut et faible niveaux d’éducation.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabrice Murtin & Johan Mackenbach & Domantas Jasilionis & Marco Mira d’Ercole, 2017. "Inequalities in longevity by education in OECD countries: Insights from new OECD estimates," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2017/2, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:stdaaa:2017/2-en
    DOI: 10.1787/6b64d9cf-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Hippolyte d’Albis & Ikpidi Badji, 2021. "Intergenerational equity by educational attainments in France," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 339-365, December.
    2. Hippolyte d'Albis & Carole Bonnet & Xavier Chojnicki & Najat El Mekkaouide Freitas & Angela Greulich & Jérôme Hubert & Julien Navaux, 2018. "Who pays for the consumption of young and old?," Working Papers halshs-01799724, HAL.
    3. Désirée Vandenberghe, 2022. "Simulating lifestyle and medical interventions to prevent type-2 diabetes: an economic evaluation for Belgium," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(2), pages 237-248, March.
    4. Díaz-Saavedra, Julián, 2023. "Heterogeneity in longevity, redistribution, and pension reform," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 604-639, October.
    5. Michel Camdessus, 2018. "Growing Inequality: What Can We Do?," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 10(1-3), pages 5-10, January.
    6. Muszynska-Spielauer, Magdalena & Riffe, Tim, 2022. "Mortality rates, life tables and life expectancy under a stationary population composition," OSF Preprints rnbf4, Center for Open Science.
    7. Romina Boarini & Marc Fleurbaey & Fabrice Murtin & Paul Schreyer, 2022. "Well‐being during the Great Recession: new evidence from a measure of multi‐dimensional living standards with heterogeneous preferences," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(1), pages 104-138, January.
    8. Thomas Leoni & Martin Spielauer & Peter Reschenhofer, 2020. "Soziale Unterschiede, Lebenserwartung und Gesundheitsausgaben im Lebensverlauf," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 66626, February.
    9. Martin Spielauer & Thomas Horvath & Marian Fink, 2020. "microWELT: A Dynamic Microsimulation Model for the Study of Welfare Transfer Flows in Ageing Societies from a Comparative Welfare State Perspective," WIFO Working Papers 609, WIFO.
    10. Martin Spielauer & Thomas Horvath & Walter Hyll & Marian Fink, 2020. "microWELT: Socio-Demographic Parameters and Projections for Austria, Spain, Finland, and the UK," WIFO Working Papers 611, WIFO.
    11. Lackó, Mária, 2020. "Korai és időskori halálozások különbségei Európában a 2000-es évek első évtizedében [Disparities in Europes premature and old-age mortality in the first decade of the 2000s]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(10), pages 957-992.
    12. Ana Poças & Elias Soukiazis & Micaela Antunes, 2020. "Factors Explaining Life Expectancy at Age 65: A Panel Data Approach Applied to European Union Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 265-288, July.
    13. Oana-Ramona Socoliuc (Guriță) & Nicoleta Sîrghi & Dănuţ-Vasile Jemna & Mihaela David, 2022. "Corruption and Population Health in the European Union Countries—An Institutionalist Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-20, April.
    14. Spielauer, Martin & Horvath, Thomas & Fink, Marian & Abio, Gemma & Souto, Guadalupe & Patxot, Ció & Istenič, Tanja, 2022. "Measuring the lifecycle impact of welfare state policies in the face of ageing," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1-25.
    15. Cristina Davino & Pasquale Dolce & Stefania Taralli & Domenico Vistocco, 2022. "Composite-Based Path Modeling for Conditional Quantiles Prediction. An Application to Assess Health Differences at Local Level in a Well-Being Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 907-936, June.
    16. Fabrizio Culotta, 2021. "Life Expectancy Heterogeneity and Pension Fairness: An Italian North-South Divide," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    17. Miguel Sanchez-Romero & Alexia Prskawetz, 2020. "The Impact of Reducing the Pension Generosity on Inequality and Schooling," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 279-304, June.
    18. Iñaki Permanyer & Jeroen Spijker & Amand Blanes & Elisenda Renteria, 2018. "Longevity and Lifespan Variation by Educational Attainment in Spain: 1960–2015," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2045-2070, December.
    19. Spielauer, Martin & Horvath, Thomas & Fink, Marian & Abio, Gemma & Souto, Guadalupe & Patxot, Ció & Istenič, Tanja, 2023. "The effect of educational expansion and family change on the sustainability of public and private transfers," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    20. Aida Isabel Tavares, 2022. "Life expectancy at 65, associated factors for women and men in Europe," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1213-1227, December.
    21. Mehmet Top & Songul Cinaroglu, 2021. "Cluster analysis of health systems in Europe according to life expectancy at birth," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2162-2181, November.
    22. Enza Simeone, 2024. "Assessing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on wellbeing: a comparison between CBA and SWF approaches for policies evaluation," Working Papers 662, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    cause of death; health; inequality; life expectancy; longevity; mortality; socioeconomic gradient;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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