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Does the impact of socioeconomic status on mortality decrease with increasing age?

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  • Rasmus Hoffmann

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

The impact of SES on mortality is an established fact. I examine if this impact decreases with increasing age. Most research finds that it does so but it is unknown whether this decrease is due to mortality selection. The data I use come from the US-Health and Retirement Study, which surveyed 9376 persons aged 59 and over from 1992 to 2000. The variables allow for a time varying measurement of SES, health and behavior. Event-history-analysis is applied to analyze differences in mortality rates. My results show that socioeconomic mortality differences are stable across ages whereas they clearly decline with decreasing health. My first finding, that health rather than age is the equalizer combined with the second finding, that good health itself is unequally distributed, leads to the conclusion that in old age, the impact of SES is transferred to the health status and hence it is stable across ages.

Suggested Citation

  • Rasmus Hoffmann, 2004. "Does the impact of socioeconomic status on mortality decrease with increasing age?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2004-016, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2004-016
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2004-016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mackenbach, J.P. & Kunst, A.E. & Groenhof, F. & Borgan, J.-K. & Costa, G. & Faggiano, F. & Józan, P. & Leinsalu, M. & Martikainen, P. & Rychtarikova, J. & Valkonen, T., 1999. "Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality among women and among men: An international study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(12), pages 1800-1806.
    2. Huisman, Martijn & Kunst, Anton E. & Mackenbach, Johan P., 2003. "Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity among the elderly; a European overview," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(5), pages 861-873, September.
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    4. Jersey Liang & Joan Bennett & Neal Krause & Erika Kobayashi & Hyekyung Kim & J. Winchester Brown & Hiroko Akiyama & Hidehiro Sugisawa & Arvind Jain, 2002. "Old Age Mortality in Japan," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 57(5), pages 294-307.
    5. Smith, James P, 1998. "Socioeconomic Status and Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 192-196, May.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    USA; mortality; old age; socio-economic differentials;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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