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Journal of General Practice

ISSN: 2329-9126

Open Access

Mortality and Inflation: A 21-Year Analysis of Data on Jamaica

Abstract

Paul Andrew Bourne, Charlene Sharpe-Pryce, Cynthia Francis, Ikhalfani Solan, Angela Hudson-Davis, Jannine Campbell-Smith and Olive Watson- Coleman

Introduction: Empirically, the analyses of mortality have been on age, crude death rate, age-specific death rates and infant mortality, not mortality and inflation. Objectives: The present work 1) evaluates mortality and inflation patterns, 2) models mortality, inflation and crude death rates, and 3) assesses age-specific mortality. Methods: Using at least 20 years of data on Jamaica (1989-2009), inflation, mortality, and mortality and inflation were graphed, and models were created to fit the data. Results: Mortality pattern is best fitted by a 6 degree polynomial (R2 = 0.789). Less than 20% of the change in mortality can be accounted for by a 1% change in inflation, and about 60% of deaths occurred at 60+ years and 70% at 75+ years. Conclusion: This work offers insights into the insignificant influence that inflation has on mortality except age, and provides pertinent information for its inclusion in the economics of death, particularly at older ages.

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