Applied Economics Lunch Seminar

Du 26/10/2021 de 12:30 à 13:30

Salle R2.01, Campus Jourdan

CLARKE Philip (University of Oxford)

The comparative mortality of an elite group in the long run of history: an observational analysis of politicians from 11 countries

Substantial evidence has emerged regarding growing long-run trends in inequalities in income and wealth in recent years, but much less is known about comparable tends in disparities in health including life expectancy. This study aimed to compare the mortality rate and life expectancy of politicians with that of the age and gender-matched general populations for 11 developed countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Politicians were members of national parliaments in countries with available data on dates of birth, death and election, gender, and life tables. Our sample included 2.6 million years of follow-up on 57,561 politicians (with follow-up period ranging from 1816–2016 for France to 1949–2017 for Germany). Relative mortality differences as Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) and absolute differences as gaps in life expectancy between politicians and the general populations over time were used to capture trends inequalities over time. At the turn of the 20th Century politicians had a survival advantage over the general population in only one country (United Kingdom), but inequalities widened considerably over the second half of the 20th century. Peak life expectancy gaps ranged from politicians living on average 4.4 (95% CI, 3.5–5.4) years longer in the Netherlands to 7.8 (95% CI, 7.2–8.4) years in the US. In the United States the survival advantage for politicians is greatest it has been in more 150 years. Finding effective ways to reduce these gaps should be a priority.