Perturbations of lifespan inequality in natural populations

Authors

M. J. Wensink

Categories

Abstract

Correlations between high life expectancy and low lifespan inequality are frequently observed. A recent article seeks to explain this phenomenon by proposing that a mortality improvement maps to life expectancy and relative lifespan equality through the same weights w(x), with an extra weight W(x) applied for relative lifespan equality, specific for the equality indicator used. From statistical theory, the claim that changes of life expectancy and lifespan (in)equality map through the same weights is unexpected. The current note explains this phenomenon by showing that W(x) undoes (part of) w(x). Thus, while the change in relative lifespan equality is proportional to the product of both weights, w(x)W(x), it is proportional to neither w(x) nor W(x). As a result, some simplification is possible that gives way to an intuitive understanding and a more direct interpretation of the perturbation analysis proposed.