Spatial differentials in mortality in Switzerland: How do contexts explain the differences between natives and migrants?

Abstract

In Western societies, migrants are known to have lower mortality risks than native born, although they are characterised by a lower socioeconomic status. Academic research has found some explanations, but the causes of the migrant mortality paradox are still partially unknown. Individual factors are generally seen as the fundamental causes of death, but recent research has shown that social, economic and cultural environments also produce inequalities in mortality. This article aims at determining the influence of socioeconomic, cultural and geographic contexts in explaining the mortality differences between migrants and native-born Swiss. By running multilevel Bayesian models, the authors decompose spatial inequalities in mortality between migrants and natives of Switzerland within Swiss municipalities and neighbourhoods.