The Low Mortality of a Learned Society

Maria Winkler-Dworak ()
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Maria Winkler-Dworak: Vienna Institute of Demography

European Journal of Population, 2008, vol. 24, issue 4, No 4, 405-424

Abstract: Abstract This study addresses the mortality of the members of a learned society. Following the literature on the social gradient of mortality, members of a learned society should exhibit much lower death rates than other social groups. We use biographical records from the members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences between 1847 and 2005 and compare their mortality to Austrian life table death rates of the entire population and the population with tertiary education, respectively. We find that the members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences experience far fewer deaths than if they were subject to the average Austrian life table mortality. The mortality differential even persists when comparing to the Austrian population with tertiary education, though to a smaller extent. Moreover, the mortality differential between the members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian population has widened over time, particularly since the mid-twentieth century.

Keywords: Epidemiological transition; Learned societies; Longevity; Mortality differentials; Transition épidémiologique; Sociétés savantes; Longévité; Inégalités de mortalité (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10680-007-9148-0

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