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Title: Economic Status as a Determinant of Mortality Among Nonwhite and White Older Males: Does Poverty Kill?
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Menchik, Paul L.
Economic Status as a Determinant of Mortality Among Nonwhite and White Older Males: Does Poverty Kill?
Discussion Paper No. 936-91, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1991
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), University of Wisconsin - Madison
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Income; Mortality; Poverty; Racial Differences; Retirement/Retirement Planning; Transfers, Financial; Transfers, Public

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The evidence presented in this paper shows that differential mortality rates by economic status are strongly present in the United States today, and that this relationship is monotonic, with the wealthiest decile having lower death rates than the next wealthiest decile. Differential mortality rates by economic status can be said to be confused with the well-known racial difference in mortality. An implication of this paper, then, is that racial differences in mortality are, in large part, a consequence of poverty or low permanent income, as opposed to racial genotype. Consequently, it may be just as valid, or even more so, to publish mortality tables by income as by race. Another implication of this paper is that the redistributive effects of longevity-based transfer systems, such as Social Security, may be less "progressive" than assumed, since would-be-poorer recipients are either less likely to live long enough to collect any benefits in the first place or will not live to collect them for as long a period of time as will more affluent recipients. In addition, a direct effect of schooling on survival-probability was not found. Consequently, the beneficial effect of schooling on longevity must work through its effect upon income, with only the latter directly influencing mortality risk.
Bibliography Citation
Menchik, Paul L. "Economic Status as a Determinant of Mortality Among Nonwhite and White Older Males: Does Poverty Kill?" Discussion Paper No. 936-91, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1991.