On the theory and measurement of the determinants of mortality

Abstract

This article develops a model of mortality that shows how biological, demographic, and environmental factors interact to affect an individual's probability of dying. To illustrate the usefulness of the model, we derive from it (as special cases) the Brass system of model life tables and the proportional-hazard mortality model and apply a logit version of the model to analyze the determinants of child mortality in Sri Lanka. © 1988 Population Association of America.