Even with data, the analysis will be confounded by immigrants' self-selection. Is it reasonable to expect that the life expectancy of immigrants is representative of the population of the country they are leaving? Or, instead, might they be a healthier (or unhealthier) subset of that population? Data that show that immigrants live longer, on average, than the population they left behind might be little related to the life expectancy of the receiving country.
The Department of Energy has long faced a closely related problem. Former employees at weapons plants contend that their health was impaired by hazards of their working environment. They demand compensation. It is incontrovertible, however, that, on average, their health is superior to that of the general population. So, are we to conclude that a little radiation is good for health (hormesis); are we to conclude that whatever the adverse effect on health might have been, it was small; or are we to conclude that the original selection for employment required that the applicants meet threshhold conditions of healthiness, so that comparisons with the general population are confounded? Grappling with this issue, the Clinton Administration determined to award $100,000 to former employees of the weapons plants. Walt Warnick -----Original Message----- From: Bryan D Caplan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2002 6:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Life Expectancy and Immigration Bahizi_P wrote: > > Country of destination would be the answer. Not to be critical, but do you have any data, or is this just your best guess? Life expectancy has a lot to do > with access to a myriad of services primary available in developed countries > (where life expectancy is greater) such as: > -medical services and treatment (Proper diagnosis and so on) > -presence (or lack thereof) of highly and deadly contagious diseases > -proper nutrition > -proper mental health care (anxiety and stress due to environment, i.e. > political unrest) > Lifespan is also related to: > -better information > -and overall better quality of life > The reverse would also true. A person going from a country with high life > expectancy to one with a shorter lifespan and adopting the locals way of > life, i.e. exposure to diseases, malnutrition, etc, would have their > lifespan considerably shortened. > My 2c worth. > > Pierre Bahizi > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -----Original Message----- > From: Bryan Caplan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 2:59 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Life Expectancy and Immigration > > Life expectancy varies widely between countries. When someone moves to > a new country, what best predicts their lifespan? Country of origin? > Or country of destination? > -- > Prof. Bryan Caplan > Department of Economics George Mason University > http://www.bcaplan.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > "He was thinking that Prince Andrei was in error and did not see the > true light, and that he, Pierre, ought to come to his aid, to > enlighten and uplift him. But no sooner had he thought out what he > should say and how to say it than he foresaw that Prince Andrei, > with one word, a single argument, would discredit all his teachings, > and he was afraid to begin, afraid to expose to possible ridicule > what he cherished and held sacred." > Leo Tolstoy, *War and Peace* -- Prof. Bryan Caplan Department of Economics George Mason University http://www.bcaplan.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Who are they? Why are they running? Could they be coming to me? Really coming to me? And why? To kill me? *Me* whom everyone loves?" Leo Tolstoy, *War and Peace*
