Longevity and month of birth

Gabriele Doblhammer
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Gabriele Doblhammer: Rostocker Zentrum zur Erforschung des Demografischen Wandels

Demographic Research, 1999, vol. 1, issue 3

Abstract: This article shows that in two European countries, Austria and Denmark, a person’s life span correlates with his or her month of birth. It presents evidence that this pattern is not the result of the seasonal distribution of death. It also shows that the seasonal pattern in longevity cannot be explained by the so-called birthday phenomenon, the alleged tendency of people to die shortly after their birthday. The article concludes with a discussion of possible social and biological mechanisms related to a person’s season of birth that might influence life expectancy.

Keywords: mortality; longevity; cause of death; seasonality; births; birthday (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:1:y:1999:i:3

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.1999.1.3

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