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Death, Dollars and Degrees: Socio‐economic Status and Longevity in Australia *
Author(s) -
Clarke Philip,
Leigh Andrew
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
economic papers: a journal of applied economics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1759-3441
pISSN - 0812-0439
DOI - 10.1111/j.1759-3441.2011.00127.x
Subject(s) - life expectancy , demography , longevity , hazard , socioeconomic status , disadvantage , socioeconomics , geography , demographic economics , gerontology , economics , medicine , sociology , political science , population , biology , ecology , law
We estimate differences in mortality and life expectancy by levels of income, education and area‐based socio‐economic status using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The study involved 16,905 respondents aged over twenty years interviewed between 2001 and 2007. Mortality estimates were based on proportional hazard regression models. The relative risk of mortality between the poorest and richest income quintile was 1.88 (1.45, 2.44) times higher and this translated into a life expectancy gap (at age twenty) of six years. Having more than twelve years of education was also associated with a significantly lower risk of death. Area‐based measures of socio‐economic disadvantage were not significant after controlling for individual‐level factors.