Book Chapter
Variation in mortality: estimation via a meta-analytic approach
In: Eilers, P. H. C. (Ed.): Proceedings of the 23rd International Workshop on Statistical Modelling, Utrecht 7 - 11 July, 2008, 238–243
Utrecht, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (2008)
Abstract
If variation in mortality is to be studied, direct comparison of empirical death rates is a simple solution. However, reliability is a serious issue because population sizes differ strongly between countries. We propose to estimate a latent mortality distribution, properly accounting for population size. This introduces a meta-analytic framework into mortality studies, offering additional opportunities to study various aspects of mortality development.