Sam Peltzman in "Mortality Inequality" used the Lorenz curve to measure mortality inequality. The top figure below is based on data for 1852; the bottom figure on data for 2002. A straight line in the figure below at a 45-degree angle shows perfect equality of mortality: that is, 20% of the population lives 20% of the total life-years at this time; 40% of the population lives 40% of the life-years for this group, and so on.
The curved line is the data In 1852 in the USA and in 2002. It shows that with high infant mortality, the bottom 30% of the distribution lived close to 0% of the life years in 1852.
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