ISER External Seminar: The Changing Locus of Social Inequality in Longevity

Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality have become an enduring feature of all high-income countries in recent decades, alongside substantial declines in gender and racial-ethnic differences in life expectancy. At the same time, lifestyle-related risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, obesity) have played an important and increasing role in the explanation of mortality inequalities. Drawing on recent findings from the United States and other high-income countries, I will argue that these trends mark a shift from ascribed to achieved status-based inequality in longevity. I will then discuss how the changing locus of social inequality in longevity may be related to broader societal changes, as well as the potential consequences of this shift in mortality inequalities for distributive justice in health and healthcare.