Giovanna Apicella

Università degli Studi di Udine

Title

The gender mortality gap: mathematical perspectives on a cross-cutting issue

Author

Giovanna Apicella

Abstract

The gender gap in mortality plays an important role in the context of demographic transition and for the construction of a culture of healthy ageing. Both the drivers and the consequences of the gender gap in mortality go beyond the demographic domain, extending, for instance, to the context of social insurance and health public policy. We study a measure of the gender gap in mortality rates, we call “Gender Gap Ratio”, and we investigate the age-pattern and the evolution over time of this measure. Specifically, we show the stylized facts that characterize the trend of the Gender Gap Ratio, both in its historical evolution and future projection, and provide evidence of the general shape of the relationship between male and female mortality rates over age, net of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disease. We contextualize our quantitative investigation in a broader framework, which highlights both the socio-economic relevance and the educational value of a stochastic analysis of the gender mortality gap. Unlocking the peculiar characteristics of the gender mortality gap allows, for instance, (i) the assessment of the prospective redistribution effects between genders, (ii) the design of proper communication strategies to increase individuals' levels of demographic literacy which, in turn, impact on retirement readiness and forward-looking decisions highly depending on longevity risk information.