Main description:

This work covers various important issues in life table construction and use. It. includes a non-technical overview, compares various methods of decomposing the difference in life expectancies, discusses the finding of suitable indicators and models, and deals with age, period, and cohort effects in mortality.

Contents:

Preface. Introduction; G. Wunsch. 1. The life table: A demographic overview; G. Wunsch. 2. The construction of life tables; G. Calot, A. Franco. 3. Methods of decomposition of differences between life expectancies at birth by causes of death; E. Valkovics. 4. Of entropies and inequalities: Summary measures of the age distribution of mortality; J. Anson. 5. Age, period and cohort components in analysing past and projecting future mortality trends; G. Caselli. 6. Parameterisation as a tool in analysing age, period and cohort effects on mortality: A case study of the Netherlands; E. Tabeau, et al. 7. The registration of causes of death: Problems of comparability; F. Mesle. 8. Gains in life expectancy by eliminating major causes of death: Revised estimates taking into account competing causes of death; A.E. Kunst, et al. 9. The measurement of mortality by cause and morbidity; J. Duchene. 10. Competing risks models: Problems of modelling and of identification; M. Mouchart, J.-M. Rolin. 11. Use of demographic tools in the assessment of the health level of populations; E. Cambois, J.-M. Robine. 12. The life table: A sociological overview; J. Anson. List of authors.