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Global trends in lifespan inequality: 1950-2015

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  • Iñaki Permanyer
  • Nathalie Scholl

Abstract

Using data from the UN World Population Prospects, we document global trends in lifespan inequality from 1950 until 2015. Our findings indicate that (i) there has been a sustained decline in overall lifespan inequality, (ii) adult lifespan variability has also declined, but some plateaus and trend reversals have been identified, (iii) lifespan inequality among the elderly has increased virtually everywhere, and (iv) most of the world variability in age-at-death can be attributed to within-country variability. Such changes have occurred against a backdrop of generalized longevity increases. Our analyses suggest that the world is facing a new challenge: the emergence of diverging trends in longevity and age-at-death inequality among the elderly around the globe—particularly in high-income areas. As larger fractions of the world population survive to more advanced ages, it will be necessary for national and international health planners to recognize the growing heterogeneity that characterizes older populations.

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  • Iñaki Permanyer & Nathalie Scholl, 2019. "Global trends in lifespan inequality: 1950-2015," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0215742
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215742
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    1. Aburto, José Manuel & Basellini, Ugofilippo & Baudisch, Annette & Villavicencio, Francisco, 2022. "Drewnowski’s index to measure lifespan variation: Revisiting the Gini coefficient of the life table," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1-10.
    2. James W. Vaupel & Marie-Pier Bergeron-Boucher & Ilya Kashnitsky, 2021. "Outsurvival as a measure of the inequality of lifespans between two populations," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(35), pages 853-864.
    3. Jos'e Manuel Aburto & Ugofilippo Basellini & Annette Baudisch & Francisco Villavicencio, 2021. "Drewnowski's index to measure lifespan variation: Revisiting the Gini coefficient of the life table," Papers 2111.11256, arXiv.org.
    4. Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, 2023. "Health, income, and the preston curve: A long view," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    5. Erich Striessnig & Alessandra Trimarchi, 2023. "How much time is left? International trends in parenthood expectancy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(16), pages 421-438.
    6. Nico Keilman, 2019. "Mortality shifts and mortality compression in period and cohort life tables," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(40), pages 1147-1196.
    7. 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.
    8. Suryakant Yadav, 2021. "Progress of Inequality in Age at Death in India: Role of Adult Mortality," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(3), pages 523-550, July.
    9. Banerjee, Nirajana & Basu, Ritojeet & De, Ananya & Poali, Monalisa, 2020. "Global Inequality in Life Expectancies: What Role Does Income Inequality Play?," SocArXiv q794n, Center for Open Science.
    10. Serena Vigezzi & Jose Manuel Aburto & Iñaki Permanyer & Virginia Zarulli, 2022. "Divergent trends in lifespan variation during mortality crises," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(11), pages 291-336.
    11. Aksan, Anna-Maria & Chakraborty, Shankha, 2023. "Life expectancy across countries: Convergence, divergence and fluctuations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    12. Iñaki Permanyer & Nicolai Suppa, 2022. "Racing ahead or lagging behind? Territorial cohesion in human development around the globe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2086-2101, December.
    13. Jiaxin Shi & Christian Dudel & Christiaan Monden & Alyson A. van Raalte, 2022. "Inequalities in retirement lifespan in the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-015, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

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