DigitalCommons@Linfield

The Effect of Gender Equality on Life Expectancy Across Development Levels

Jereld R. Nicholson Library

This research uses empirical panel data to test the hypothesis that increased gender equality increases both female and male life expectancies across development levels over time. As women achieve more empowerment in society, they are healthier and are able to raise healthier children as well. In addition to gender equality, a very important factor in explaining and predicting life expectancy is the per capita income of the population in question. The Ordinary Least Squares regressions performed in this research support both of these hypotheses, showing that for both genders, at all levels of development, gender equality and Gross Domestic Product per capita have strong explanatory power for life expectancy across countries.