Longevity and the rise of the West: lifespans of the European elite, 800-1800

Neil Cummins

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: I analyse the age at death of 121,524 European nobles from 800 to 1800. Longevity began increasing long before 1800 and the Industrial Revolution, with marked increases around 1400 and again around 1650. Declines in violence contributed to some of this increase, but the majority must reflect other changes in individual behavior. The areas of North-West Europe which later witnessed the Industrial Revolution achieved greater longevity than the rest of Europe even by 1000AD. The data suggest that the `Rise of the West' originates before the Black Death.

Keywords: Mortality; Health; Nobility; Divergence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 N3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2014-09
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