Page 20 - IJPS-7-2

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Gender gap in life expectancy at birth and

the role of socioeconomic indicators in South
and East Europe, 1991 – 2020: Evidence from a

dynamic panel model

Goran Miladinov*
Independent Researcher, Macedonia

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of socioeconomic development,
economic, employment, and demographic factors on gender gap in life expectancy
at birth (LEAB) in 24 South and East European countries. Aggregated yearly time
series mainly from the UN and World Bank database for the period 1991 – 2020 were
used. The generalized method of moments/dynamic panel data (GMM/DPD) model,
a dynamic panel model, was used to explore the role of socioeconomic development,
economic, employment, and demographic factors on sex differences in LEAB. The
study shows that in these countries, a narrowed gender gap in LEAB is associated
with a higher percentage of urban population in total population. There was found
a significant impact of GDP per capita with a 2-year lag and Gini index with a 2-year
*Corresponding author:
Goran Miladinov lag as well as to LEAB on the gender gap in LEAB. There was not found a significant
(miladinovg@aol.com) relationship between employment and education variables on gender gap in LEAB.
Citation: Miladinov G.(2021). However, the findings are important for policy discussions in terms of population
Gender gap in life expectancy at health, labor policy, etc. The results are supported by the number of studies which
birth and the role of socioeconomic show the relationship between socioeconomic development, economic, and
indicators in South and East
Europe, 1991 – 2020: Evidence demographic indicators and employment issues with gender gap in LEAB.
from a dynamic panel model.
International journal of population
studies, 7(2):14-31. Keywords: Gender gap; Life expectancy at birth; Generalized method of moments/
Https://doi.org/10.36922/Ijps.V7i2.389 dynamic panel data; South-East Europe; Panel data
Received: October 8, 2022
Accepted: November 30, 2022
Published Online: December 27, 1. Introduction
2022
For long time, it has been known that the spatial distribution of the population reflects
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article the social and political contextual link with the place of residence and has been
distributed under the terms of the considered an important factor influencing a person’s exposures to health-associated
Creative Commons Attribution risks, gain access to health services, as well as with educational and economic set of
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, circumstances over an individual’s life course (Graetz & Elo, 2021). Bloom and Canning
provided the original work is (2006) pointed out the biggest demographic upheaval in history from the 1950s to 1960s,
properly cited. an upheaval that is still ongoing. In a few developed societies, the sharp post-war rise
Publisher’s Note: AccScience in fertility was followed by an equally sharp decline. As a result of the shifts in fertility,
Publishing remains neutral with age structures were transformed with the formation of a “baby boom” generation.
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps, country names, Furthermore, the aging of this generation and continued declines in fertility and old-
and institutional affiliations. age mortality have led to a shift in the population age structure in developed societies

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2021) 14 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.v7i2.389