Abstract
The rise in life expectancy is one of the main processes of social change in the 19th century. In the Netherlands, regional differences in life expectancy, and their development, were huge. Therefore, studies on average life expectancy or studies, which examine the whole of the Netherlands do not fully capture the differential determinants of this process. This study focuses on social, economic, and geographic differences in life expectancy in 19th-century Overijssel using the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN). Exploiting Cox regression, the influence of several factors on life expectancy are investigated. The article shows that birth cohort, urbanisation, and gender had an important relation with life expectancy in 19th-century Overijssel, while industrialisation, religion, and inheritance customs were not associated with age at death.
Highlights
In the early 19th century there were huge differences in life expectancy in the Dutch provinces
Religion is studied with the use of the Historische Databank Nederlandse Gemeenten (HDNG; Historical database of Dutch municipalities), in particular to derive a measure of the proportion of Catholic inhabitants
The results show that birth cohort is an important factor in understanding life expectancy
Summary
In the early 19th century there were huge differences in life expectancy in the Dutch provinces. Male inhabitants of the coastal provinces (Zeeland and Zuid-Holland) born between 1840 and 1851 lived on average 15 years less than men in the other provinces (Beekink, Boonstra, Engelen, & Knippenberg, 2003). This can be explained by the poor quality of the water in the coastal provinces, which caused a higher mortality rate. During the century the trend of increasing life expectancy in Overijssel slowed down and lagged behind that in most other provinces (Engelen, 2009). This study sheds light on these and other characteristics, which could have had an influence on the differences in life expectancy in the 19th century. We will focus on the results of the Cox-regression, and lastly, in the conclusion this study will be placed in a broader perspective
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
