Citation

Lemaire J. LDI Issue Brief 2005; 11(2): 1-4.

Affiliation

Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16708428

Abstract

Despite recent gains, the U.S. remains behind most other affluent countries in life expectancy. Even within the U.S., the gap between the life expectancies of Caucasians and African-Americans remains significant. At the same time, firearm deaths in the U.S. far exceed peer nations, and disproportionately affect African-American males. In this Issue Brief, Dr. Lemaire explores whether deaths from firearms explain some of these international and racial disparities in life expectancy. He uses actuarial techniques to calculate the "cost" of firearm deaths in the U.S., both in terms of reduced life expectancy and increased life insurance premiums.

Language: en