Death, Demography and the Denominator: New Influenza-18 Mortality Estimates for Ireland

Christopher Colvin and Eoin McLaughlin

No 2020-04, QUCEH Working Paper Series from Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History

Abstract: Using the Irish experience of the Spanish flu, we demonstrate that pandemic mortality statistics are sensitive to the demographic composition of a country. We build a new demographic database for Ireland's 32 counties with vital statistics on births, ageing, migration and deaths. We then show how age-at-death statistics in 1918 and 1919 should be reinterpreted in light of these data. Our new estimates suggest the very young were most impacted by the flu. New studies of the economic impact of Influenza-18 must better control for demographic factors if they are to yield useful policy-relevant results. Covid-19 mortality statistics must go through a similar procedure so policymakers can better target their public health interventions.

Keywords: demographic economics; pandemics; age-adjusted mortality; Spanish flu; Ireland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 N34 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-hea and nep-his
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Death, demography and the denominator: New Influenza-18 mortality estimates for Ireland (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:qucehw:202004

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