The five-year decline for white women rivals the catastrophic seven-year drop for Russian men in the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said Michael Marmot, director of the Institute of Health Equity in London.The decline among the least educated non-Hispanic whites, who make up a shrinking share of the population, widened an already troubling gap. The latest estimate shows life expectancy for white women without a high school diploma was 73.5 years, compared with 83.9 years for white women with a college degree or more. For white men, the gap was even bigger: 67.5 years for the least educated white men compared with 80.4 for those with a college degree or better. (see link for story)
This pattern is perfectly consistent with a utilitarian social welfare function but not a Rawlsian one which would maximize the welfare of the most vulnerable groups in society.
In international rankings, according to the article:
The dropping life expectancies have helped weigh down the United States in international life expectancy rankings, particularly for women. In 2010, American women fell to 41st place, down from 14th place in 1985, in the United Nations rankings. Among developed countries, American women sank from the middle of the pack in 1970 to last place in 2010, according to the Human Mortality Database.
This article is really interesting! I took a class one summer called, Positive Psychology. The class discussed information like this... how education is positively related to age rate. Reasons include, people who are more educated are happier in general, making them healthier people. Also that those who have higher education are better off money wise and can provide for themselves and maintain their health.
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