The Poor and the Dead:
Socioeconomic Status and Mortality
in the U.S., 1850-1860
Joseph P. Ferrie
Abstract
Despite the significant research on aggregate trends
in mortality and physical stature in the middle of the 19th century,
little evidence on the individual-level characteristics associated
with premature mortality has been presented. This paper describes
a new project that links individuals from the Mortality Schedules
to the Population Schedules of the 1850 and 1860 federal population
censuses. This makes it possible to assess the link between individual
and household characteristics and the probability of dying. The
results reveal a strong and negative relationship between household
wealth and mortality in 1860 and a somewhat weaker negative relationship
between occupational status and mortality in 1850. The findings
suggest that even when the U.S. population was largely rural and
agricultural, changes in the distribution of income and wealth would
have had a large impact on mortality rates and life expectancies.
Joseph P. Ferrie, Department
of Economics, Northwestern University
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