Educational Inequalities in Healthy Longevity by Race in the United States

Tianyu Shen, Australian National University
Collin Payne, Australian National University

Substantial disparities in longevity and health exist among different educational groups in the US population. However, current research has not fully disentangled the determinants of these inequalities. Utilizing data from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we estimate cohort life expectancy (LE) and disability-free/disabled life expectancy (DFLE/DLE) by educational groups for the Black and the White by sex. This intersectional approach provides further insights into how educational attainment translates into health inequality among different population subgroups. We decompose these healthy disparities by education and examine whether the educational disparities in later-life disability are primarily due to unequal functional health at the onset or if they stem from divergent patterns of functional decline during older age. Our findings indicate these disparities are primarily driven by differences in the transitions between disability states and mortality. By decomposing educational levels, we highlight key factors contributing to gaps in life expectancy (LE) and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) between college graduates and those without a high school diploma. The impact of education varies significantly by race and sex across U.S. birth cohorts, advancing the debate on how early-life education affects health disparities in later life.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Decomposition analysis, Human Capital, Education, and Work, Mortality and Longevity

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 42. Patterns and Inequalities in Healthy Longevity