Einkommensunterschiede in der Mortalität in Deutschland - Ein empirischer Erklärungsversuch

Abstract

In this study the relative contribution of several factors to the explanation of income related life expectancy at the age of 65 in Germany are assessed. Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) this article estimates survival analytic models which identify the mediator effect of eight distinct groups of explanatory factors. As possible mediators the following are considered education, demography, social background, occupational strain, subjective evaluation of the economic situation, social activities and networks, sports, and health at age 65. The results show that for men, sports, education, social networks, and health status reduce the association between income and life expectancy considerably. For women, in addition to sports and health, social activities and networks are strongly associated with social differences in mortality.