State of the 'life span revolution' between 1980 and 2000 [An article from: Journal of Development Economics]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Development Economics, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Using data for 163 countries, state of the 'life span revolution' over the period 1980-2000 is studied in terms of measures of cross-country inequality and through least-squares and quantile-regression estimation of simple convergence models. Four main points are noted. First, dynamics of the cross-country distribution of life expectancy during these 20 years seem markedly different from those for the preceding decades: instead of the sharp 'convergence' noted until the 1980s, there is lack of convergence and an indication of 'divergence'. Second, the divergence is particularly marked during the 1990s. Third, spread of HIV/AIDS has probably been a significant factor in generating divergence during the 1990s. Fourth, besides the sizable temporal heterogeneity, quantile-regression estimates of convergence models reveal a substantial heterogeneity across the top and the bottom quartiles within each period.