Polarization of Life Expectancy Across Countries: Does Biological and Cultural Distance to the Health Technological Frontier Matter?

Abstract

This study examines the evolution of the distribution of life expectancy (LE) at birth and at ages 20 and 60 years using the stochastic kernel framework. It finds that the period between 1990 and 2013 exhibits a decrease in LE at birth dispersion and also shows that σ‐divergence and polarization of LE at ages 20 and 60 occur across countries. Further deterioration (improvement) in relative position of countries with low (high) starting LE is observed in some sections of the LE distribution. The dispersion in LE and intradistribution movements can be attributed to genealogically transmitted human barriers to technology diffusion.