Spatial Gender Differences in Life Expectancy at Birth

Abstract

The study presents the major micro-regional characteristics of life expectancy at birth between 2005 and 2009 according to the classification in force at present. The spatial pattern of life expectancy at birth by gender was described with the help of global and local autocorrelation indicators. Due to the strong relation between the regional life expectancy of men and women, the applied non-spatial cluster analysis served as a more exact methodological frame for typology. The sole purpose of the study was to describe the spatial structure of life expectancy at birth with descriptive tools. Life expectancy at birth goes far beyond its demographic content. A number of researchers emphasize that life expectancy can be considered a stable imprint of social processes, and is – among macro-level indicators – the most important component of life quality (Sen 1998, Wilkinson 1992, Bobak and Marmot 1996, Mazumdar 2001, Dasgupta 2000). As opposed to other indicators of life quality and different composite indicators, which are often difficult to interpret, life expectancy in itself has an unambiguous content irrespective of spatial and temporal context. To live longer and to remain healthy as long as possible is one of the individual and collective aims that are naturally obvious for everybody. In Hungary, a large number of publications dealt with the topic of regional mortality (Daroczi 1997). Until the establishment of the structure of micro-regions, researches focused mainly on county-level analyses and the differences between the districts of the capital city (Daroczi 1997, Jozan and Forster 1999). Demographic and spatial epidemiological researches at a more nuanced regional scale gained ground owing to the establishment of the structure of micro-regions as well as to the more and more refined methodological tools. In the Hungarian scientific literature numerous micro-regional mortality analyses were prepared (Hablicsek 2004, Klinger 2003, 2006a, 2006b). The focus of the analyses of demographers was first of all on the compilation of regional mortality tables and the descriptive characterization of differences. Within the current framework, the emphasis is definitely put on spatiality. This study outlines the present differences in life expectancy with the help of spatial cross-sectional data. Data and method The micro-regional abridged mortality tables were calculated with the Chiang method separately for men and women (Chiang 1984). The detailed description of the method is well documented in numerous publications of the Hungarian scientific literature (Hablicsek 2003, Daroczi 2004). The abridged mortality tables <1, 1–4, 5–9, …, 90+ are built up from the data of age groups. The mortality and mid-year population data come from the DEMOgrafiai program of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office which creates tables. In the interest of authenticity, micro-regional life expectancies at birth contain the