Working Paper: NBER ID: w24929
Authors: Kevin Milligan; Tammy Schirle
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.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I14; J11; J14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| earnings (J31) | longevity (C41) |
| age, sex (J21) | longevity (C41) |
| earnings (J31) | differences in life expectancy (I14) |
| changes in income (E25) | cross-time differences in longevity (C41) |
| changes in income (E25) | cross-country differences in longevity (I14) |
| cohort data (C80) | survival rates (C41) |