Disability and Life Expectancy over the XXth Century: the Role of Culture

Alice Dominici , Bocconi University
Nicoletta Balbo, Bocconi University
Danilo Bolano, Bocconi University
Lotta Vikström, Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University
Johan Junkka, Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University
Erling Häggström Gunfridsson, Centre for Demographic and Aging Research (CEDAR), Umeå University

Ongoing research shows that during the XXth century, life expectancy of disabled people has improved less than for people without disabilities. This paper aims to uncover the cultural causes of this phenomenon. Following established results in economic history, we will exploit mass emigration in Sweden at the end of the XIXth century and US immigration reforms in 1913 as a source of exogenous variation for collectivist cultural traits. We will then compare the life expectancy of individuals with disabilities across villages that experienced different levels of increases in collectivistic traits. To do so, we rely on rich parish registries that detail, among others, individual-level disabilities by type of impairment and migrations between the early XIXth century and 1960. In the absence of structured welfare services, we expect disabled people from more collectivist villages to live longer thanks to the support of other citizens.

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 Presented in Session P2. Health, Mortality, Ageing - Aperitivo