The Evolution of Longevity: Evidence from Canada

Kevin Milligan and Tammy Schirle

No 24929, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We find a steep earnings-longevity gradient using fifty years of administrative data from Canada, with men in the top ventile of earnings living eight years (11 percent) longer than those in the bottom ventile. For women, the difference is 3.6 years. Unlike the United States, this longevity gradient in Canada has shifted uniformly through time, with approximately equal gains across the earnings distribution. We compare our results using cross-sectional and cohort-based methods, finding similar trends but a steeper gradient when using cohorts. For middle-aged men, we find a cessation of mortality improvements in recent years, comparable to changes observed in the United States. Changes in income do not explain cross-time or cross-country differences.

JEL-codes: I14 J11 J14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea and nep-lab
Note: AG
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published as Kevin Milligan & Tammy Schirle, 2021. "The evolution of longevity: Evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(1), pages 164-192, February.

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Journal Article: The evolution of longevity: Evidence from Canada (2021)
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