In 2011, U.S. mortality rates reached record lows for both women and men; as a result, life expectancy at birth reached record highs: 81 years for women and 76 years for men.1 These are impressive figures. As recently as 1960, women's life expectancy at birth was only 73.1 years and men's only 66.6 years.2 Within 50 years, life expectancy at birth increased by 8 years for women and nearly 10 years for men (see Figure 1). Figure 1 US Life Expectancy at Birth by Gender, 1960-2011 Unfortunately, these increases in life expectancy mask very wide disparities among population groups. For example, remaining life expectancy at age 25—an important overall indicator of adult population health—is about a decade shorter for people who do not have a high school degree compared with those who have completed college.3 Educational attainment appears to be very important in differentiating U.S. adults’ prospects for long life. These differences represent critical health and social issues with important implications for policymakers. Because well-educated individuals have a much longer life expectancy, is such an accomplishment (or at least a substantial improvement) possible for other subgroups? The potential to reduce these educational differences in mortality and life expectancy underscores the need to accurately describe them and understand why they exist. Armed with such information, policymakers then have the evidence to ensure that U.S. adults are sufficiently educated so that no group pays a “longevity penalty.” Despite the potential to reduce educational differences in mortality, it may be overly simplistic to assume that they are easily responsive to increased future investments in the education of U.S. children. Higher levels of schooling do not necessarily cause people to live longer. Other factors, such as parental education and income, may be related to both high educational attainment and longevity among U.S. adults. If so, then even the best-intentioned policy efforts to reduce educational differences in mortality may be of little value. In short, this area of scientific inquiry and policy interest is controversial. In this Population Bulletin, we examine educational differences in U.S. adult mortality and life expectancy. We provide a balanced and up-to-date portrait of the key results and implications of research in this area. We address five major issues: What is the current association between educational attainment and adult mortality? Have educational differences in adult mortality changed over the past 50 years? Why do such wide educational differences in adult mortality now exist? What are the policy implications of recent education-mortality research? And what are the implications of recent work in this area for future education-mortality research?
One of the goals of development policies is to create an environment for rapid economic growth. The economic successes of the Asian Tigers during the 1960s and 1970s have led to a comprehensive way of thinking about how different sectors can work together to make this growth a reality. Referred to as the this framework helps explain the experience of certain countries in Asia and later successes in Latin America and is creating a sense of optimism for improving the economic well-being of developing countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The demographic dividend refers to the accelerated economic growth that begins with changes in the age structure of a countrys population as it transitions from high to low birth and death rates. With fewer young people relative to the population of working-age adults and with the successful implementation of key national policies over the long term countries such as Thailand and Brazil have reaped the rewards from their demographic dividend. But many policymakers mistakenly think that a demographic dividend results automatically from a large population of young people relative to the population of working-age adults without the needed population social and economic policies. This is not the case. This Population Bulletin explains the demographic dividend in terms of demographic changes investments in human capital and economic and governance policies. The experiences of Asia and Latin America in achieving their dividends are highlighted as are the prospects for African nations. The last section outlines issues that countries need to plan for as they move beyond their demographic dividend.
