Differential Mortality

This book aims to contribute to a better understanding of the variety of factors - biological, social, economic and cultural - associated with persistent inequalities in mortality in the less developed countries. It contains a selection of papers presented at the IUSSP-NIRA Joint Seminar on Biological and Social Correlates of Mortality, held 24th-27th November 1984 in Japan. While death rates in developing countries have declined, the fall has not been across the board, with a sharp contrast between survival chances for the urban, well-educated, white-collar elites, and rural dwellers and city slum populations. Women and children appear to be particularly at risk of premature death in many societies. The book focuses on the biological determinants of mortality rates and on the methodological issues involved in studying changing trends in mortality levels. Some of the papers deal with new conceptual approaches, while others address health and mortality problems in selected countries or groups of countries. A separate section deals with demographic and health impacts of famine and other disasters.

The contribution of fertility decline due to mortality and the emerging health problems resulting from the ageing of populations are also examined. This work should appeal to demographers, health professionals and epidemiologists interested in measuring mortality.