The Birth of Inequality? Variations in Mortality in Paris during the Transition

Florian Bonnet, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Lionel Kesztenbaum , Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Catalina Torres, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales Universidad de la República, Uruguay

In the past two hundred years, European cities, especially huge metropolises such as London, Paris or Berlin, went from urban graveyards to healthy cocoons. Despite a growing literature, this peculiar evolution remains under-investigated. Building on a novel database containing mortality rates for Paris and its surrounding area, we analyze in great detail the urban mortality transition. In this study we explore three directions, focusing on the period 1888-1943. First, we study the changing patterns of mortality between different groups, in particular contrasting the evolution of mortality for men and women. Second, we assess the role of different causes of death in the mortality decline and in the differences between groups. Third, we explore spatial differences in mortality for selected causes of death between arrondissements within Paris, linking the observed differences with socioeconomic variables. We identify two periods of life-expectancy gains (before and after WWI) with distinct profiles in terms of the main contributing causes of death among the infectious diseases. Furthermore, we find a substantial male-disadvantage in life expectancy during the study period, explained mostly by higher male mortality in adulthood (especially from tuberculosis).

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