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Old-Age Mortality in Germany prior to and after Reunification

Author

Listed:
  • Arjan Gjonca

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Hilke Brockmann

    (Universität Bremen)

  • Heiner Maier

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung)

Abstract

Recent trends in German life expectancy show a considerable increase. Most of this increase has resulted from decreasing mortality at older ages. Patterns of oldest old mortality (ages 80+) differed significantly between men and women as well as between East and West Germany. While West German oldest old mortality decreased since the mid 1970s, comparable decreases in East Germany did not become evident until the late 1980s. Yet, the East German mortality decline accelerated after German reunification in 1990, particularly among East German females, attesting to the plasticity of human life expectancy and the importance of late life events. Medical care, individual economic resources and life-style factors are discussed as potential determinants of the decline in old age mortality in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Arjan Gjonca & Hilke Brockmann & Heiner Maier, 2000. "Old-Age Mortality in Germany prior to and after Reunification," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:3:y:2000:i:1
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2000.3.1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Vogt, Tobias C. & Kluge, Fanny A., 2015. "Can public spending reduce mortality disparities? Findings from East Germany after reunification," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 5(C), pages 7-13.
    2. Tobias Vogt & Fanny Annemarie Kluge, 2015. "Income sources and intergenerational transfers in different regimes," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(41), pages 1153-1164.
    3. Pavel Grigoriev & Markéta Pechholdová, 2017. "Health Convergence Between East and West Germany as Reflected in Long-Term Cause-Specific Mortality Trends: To What Extent was it Due to Reunification?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(5), pages 701-731, December.
    4. Dora L. Costa, 2015. "Health and the Economy in the United States from 1750 to the Present," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(3), pages 503-570, September.
    5. Haan, Peter & Prowse, Victoria, 2014. "Longevity, life-cycle behavior and pension reform," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 178(P3), pages 582-601.
    6. Marc Luy, 2005. "The importance of mortality tempo-adjustment: theoretical and empirical considerations," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2005-035, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    7. Tobias C. Vogt & Alyson A. van Raalte & Pavel Grigoriev & Mikko Myrskylä, 2016. "German East-West mortality difference: two cross-overs driven by smoking," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2016-004, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Alyson van Raalte & Pekka Martikainen & Mikko Myrskylä, 2014. "Lifespan Variation by Occupational Class: Compression or Stagnation Over Time?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 73-95, February.
    9. Dora L. Costa & Joanna Lahey, 2003. "Becoming Oldest-Old: Evidence from Historical U.S. Data," NBER Working Papers 9933, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Tobias Vogt & Alyson van Raalte & Pavel Grigoriev & Mikko Myrskylä, 2017. "The German East-West Mortality Difference: Two Crossovers Driven by Smoking," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 1051-1071, June.
    11. Richard Verdugo, 2006. "Workers, workers’ productivity and the dependency ratio in Germany: analysis with implications for social policy," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 25(5), pages 547-565, December.
    12. Rembrandt D. Scholz & Heiner Maier, 2003. "German unification and the plasticity of mortality at older ages," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2003-031, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    13. Markéta Pechholdová, 2009. "Results and observations from the reconstruction of continuous time series of mortality by cause of death," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(18), pages 535-568.
    14. Bambra, Clare & Smith, Katherine E. & Pearce, Jamie, 2019. "Scaling up: The politics of health and place," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 36-42.
    15. Michał Myck, 2011. "Policy challenges in Germany and Poland: what can we learn from the SHARE data," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 28.
    16. Marc Luy, 2006. "Mortality tempo-adjustment," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 15(21), pages 561-590.
    17. Michael Mühlichen, 2019. "Avoidable Mortality in the German Baltic Sea Region Since Reunification: Convergence or Persistent Disparities?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 609-637, July.
    18. Dennis M. Feehan, 2018. "Separating the Signal From the Noise: Evidence for Deceleration in Old-Age Death Rates," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2025-2044, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    mortality; Germany; life expectancy; oldest old; German reunification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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