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Document Type

Article

Abstract

Life expectancy is an important indicator of a population’s health and anticipated life-quality. Life expectancies have continued to rise in recent history, but there is great variance between countries. This paper analyzes potential reasons for country variation in the average human lifespan. Regression analysis is performed on data from 156 countries to infer explanations of observed variance. In this model, I chose factors from past research that have been highly significant. When selecting variables, I considered socio-economic, lifestyle, and health care financing measures. To explain national life expectancies, I tested variables including education, income, urban-to-rural living, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and health care expenditures. My results found education, income, and urban factors were all statistically significant variables within the model. This is consistent with previous research on these factors. However, my model presented contradictions from previous literature on the significance of alcohol and tobacco consumption and health care expenditure factors. Potential reasons for these inconsistencies are briefly discussed.

Publication Date

July 2023

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics

Volume

5

Issue

1

Copyright

©2023 by Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Economics Commons

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