Mortality of White Americans, African Americans, and Canadians: The Causes and Consequences for Health of Welfare State Institutions and Policies

The life expectancy of African Americans has been substantially lower than that of white Americans for as long as records are available. The life expectancy of all Americans has been lower than that of all Canadians since the beginning of the 20th century. Until the 1970s this disparity was the resu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Milbank quarterly 2005-01, Vol.83 (1), p.5-39
Main Authors: KUNITZ, STEPHEN J., PESIS-KATZ, IRENA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Blacks
Breast cancer
Canada
Canada - epidemiology
Cause of Death
Comparative analysis
Crossnational studies
Disparities
Disparity studies
European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data
Health
Health Policy
Health Priorities
Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data
Health Services Needs and Demand - statistics & numerical data
Health Services Research
Humans
Income inequality
insurance
Insurance Coverage - statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data
Life Expectancy
Mortality
Mortality rate
North America
Original
Policy studies
Political culture
Political parties
Primary health care
Public health
Race
Racial differences
Risk Factors
Social problems and social policy. Social work
Social Welfare - statistics & numerical data
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociology
U.S.A
United States
United States - epidemiology
USA
Welfare state
White American culture
Whites
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Summary:The life expectancy of African Americans has been substantially lower than that of white Americans for as long as records are available. The life expectancy of all Americans has been lower than that of all Canadians since the beginning of the 20th century. Until the 1970s this disparity was the result of the low life expectancy of African Americans. Since then, the life expectancy of white Americans has not improved as much as that of all Canadians. This article discusses two issues: racial disparities in the United States, and the difference in life expectancy between all Canadians and white Americans. Each country's political culture and institutions have shaped these differences, especially national health insurance in Canada and its absence in the United States. The American welfare state has contributed to and explains these differences.
ISSN:0887-378X
1468-0009
DOI:10.1111/j.0887-378X.2005.00334.x