Socioeconomic status and adult mortality in the West. From late 18th century to the present

Documento de Trabajo #2302

Título: Socioeconomic status and adult mortality in the West. From late 18th century to the present

Autor/es: Víctor A. Luque de Haro

Abstract: This paper presents a state of the art on the theories about the evolution of social differences in adult mortality throughout development and offers an interpretation of the available evidence. The importance of the different determinants of social inequalities in mortality has been changing during the last centuries due to the advances in medical and health knowledge. Therefore, the diverse rates of growth experienced by the different economies, the disparities in education, the role of the state in the provision of certain services, as well as the way in which production has been distributed, have conditioned the evolution of social differences in mortality in each of the processes of developing. These elements help to explain the heterogeneity of results at the international level and provide some explanatory keys about the European north-south pattern that is observed when comparing the available evidence.