Brief Note Are Geographic Effects on Life Expectancy in Ohio Spurious Because of Race?

Abstract

The possibility that significant geographic effects on life expectancy found in Ohio may have been spurious because of race is tested in this paper, which utilizes a regression-based technique to estimate life expectancy for selected cities and their suburbs. Using multivariate analysis in conjunction with race-specific regression models we find that, although white life expectancy values exceed those of blacks, the geographic effects described in an earlier paper were not spurious. Because socioeconomic status is associated with both race and geography, these findings provide support for the argument that socioeconomic status plays an instrumental role in differential life expectancy.