Healthier, Wealthier, and Wiser: A Demonstration of Compositional Changes in Aging Cohorts Due to Selective Mortality

Anna Zajacova, Sarah A. Burgard
2013 Population: Research and Policy Review  
Understanding the gradual changes in cohort composition that occur as a result of selective mortality is critical to aging research. We present a straightforward illustration of changes in the distribution of cohort characteristics that arise purely as a result of selective attrition. We use data on health, wealth, and education from 10 waves of the Health and Retirement Survey (N=16,233). Utilizing only baseline information, we calculate sample statistics but include only respondents who
more » ... ed in the survey at each specific wave. This simple approach exposes substantial changes in the distribution of all examined cohort characteristics over time. For instance, the median wealth increases from about $90,000 to $130,000 among older cohorts. The selection process changes the composition of older cohorts considerably, suggesting that researchers focusing on the elderly need to be aware of the highly select groups they are observing and interpret their conclusions accordingly. HEALTHIER, WEALTHIER, AND WISER: A DEMONSTRATION OF COMPOSITIONAL CHANGES IN AGING COHORTS DUE TO SELECTIVE MORTALITY. Selective mortality is a process whereby disadvantaged individuals die at younger ages than their more advantaged peers. This process gradually changes the composition of cohorts in a systematic way: the cohorts appear healthier, wealthier, more educated, and generally better off than they would in the absence of the selection process --that is, if the disadvantaged individuals did not die. The changes in the cohort composition over time resulting from selective mortality are of interest to a range of substantive areas, particularly those focused on older adults or the aging process. Over the past three decades, formal demographers have provided the theoretical and mathematical foundations to understand mortality selection and its impact on aging cohorts (
doi:10.1007/s11113-013-9273-x pmid:25075152 pmcid:PMC4112120 fatcat:boow62xklvh3zkz5etjm7bqopm