The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony

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dc.creatorPiraino, Patrizio
dc.creatorMuller, Sean
dc.creatorCilliers, Jeane
dc.creatorFourie, Johan
dc.date2014-06-05T09:46:26Z
dc.date2014-06-05T09:46:26Z
dc.date2014
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-28T10:06:37Z
dc.date.available2015-05-28T10:06:37Z
dc.date.issued2015-05-28
dc.descriptionEvidence on long-term multigenerational dynamics is often inadequate as large datasets with multiple generations remain very uncommon. We posit that genealogical records can offer a valuable alternative. Rather than exploring the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic status, we rely on birth and death dates of eighteenth and nineteenth century settlers in South Africa's Cape Colony to estimate the intergenerational transmission of longevity. We find that there is a positive and significant association between parents’ and offspring's life duration, as well as between siblings. Although these correlations persist over time, the coefficients are relatively small. While the effect of grandparents’ longevity on that of grandchildren is insignificant, the cousin correlations suggest that inequality in longevity might persist across more than two generations. We suggest that family and environmental factors shared by cousins, beyond grandparental longevity, can explain these results.
dc.identifierPiraino, P., Muller, S., Cilliers, J. and Fourie, J. (2014). The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony, Research on Social Stratification and Mobility, 35: 105–119
dc.identifierhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0276562413000474
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/709
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article DA - 2015-05-28 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Multi-generational dynamics KW - South Africa KW - Socio-economic status KW - Cape Colony KW - Longevity KW - Inter-generational transmission of longevity LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony TI - The transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11090/709 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11090/709
dc.languageen
dc.publisherResearch on Social Stratification and Mobility
dc.publisher.departmentSALDRUen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectMulti-generational dynamics
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectSocio-economic status
dc.subjectCape Colony
dc.subjectLongevity
dc.subjectInter-generational transmission of longevity
dc.titleThe transmission of longevity across generations: The case of the settler Cape colony
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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