The case for life expectancy at age 60 as a prominent health indicator. A comparative analysis

Iulia Toropoc; Iulia Toropoc

doi:10.3934/NAR.2022022

National Accounting Review

2022, Volume 4, Issue 4: 390-411. doi: 10.3934/NAR.2022022

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Research article

The case for life expectancy at age 60 as a prominent health indicator. A comparative analysis

Iulia Toropoc ^,

Independent Researcher, 172 Holland Park Avenue, London, United Kingdom

Received: 09 September 2022 Revised: 21 November 2022 Accepted: 27 November 2022 Published: 09 December 2022
JEL Codes: I10, I14, I15, I19, J10, J11, J14, J18, J19

The aim of this paper is to argue the case of using life expectancy at age 60 (LE60) as a significant health indicator closely related to sustainable economic development. To this purpose, we investigate the impact of GDP on LE60 in parallel with the impact of GDP on Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). The rationale for selecting IMR as a comparison indicator is twofold. First, the relationship between IMR and GDP has been widely studied. Second, the two indicators display opposite trajectories, making the comparison more striking. For our comparison, we conduct several statistical analyses on LE60, IMR and GDP using global country data grouped by income level and region. Our results endorse the effect of GDP on LE60 and IMR and suggest a differentiation of the effect based on region and ultimately on income. We observe that as countries develop, their IMR values lower and their LE60 values increase. We conclude that, once countries reach the upper stages of development, LE60 becomes a better health indicator than IMR.
- population,
- population aging,
- life expectancy at age 60,
- infant mortality rate,
- economic development,
- health indicator,
- income,
- region,
- inequality,
- corruption
Citation: Iulia Toropoc. The case for life expectancy at age 60 as a prominent health indicator. A comparative analysis[J]. National Accounting Review, 2022, 4(4): 390-411. doi: 10.3934/NAR.2022022

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to argue the case of using life expectancy at age 60 (LE60) as a significant health indicator closely related to sustainable economic development. To this purpose, we investigate the impact of GDP on LE60 in parallel with the impact of GDP on Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). The rationale for selecting IMR as a comparison indicator is twofold. First, the relationship between IMR and GDP has been widely studied. Second, the two indicators display opposite trajectories, making the comparison more striking. For our comparison, we conduct several statistical analyses on LE60, IMR and GDP using global country data grouped by income level and region. Our results endorse the effect of GDP on LE60 and IMR and suggest a differentiation of the effect based on region and ultimately on income. We observe that as countries develop, their IMR values lower and their LE60 values increase. We conclude that, once countries reach the upper stages of development, LE60 becomes a better health indicator than IMR.

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