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Life expectancy in less developed countries: socioeconomic development or public health?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Richard G. Rogers
Affiliation:
Population Program and Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
Sharon Wofford
Affiliation:
Population Program and Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Summary

Various studies have enquired into the influence of socioeconomic development or public health measures on life expectancies in less developed countries. Analysis of the effect of these two groups of factors upon life expectancy, using data for 95 less developed countries, indicates that mortality is primarily influenced by such socioeconomic development measures as urbanization, industrialization, and education, and secondarily by such public health measures as access to safe water, physicians, and adequate nutrition.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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