Explaining Diversities in Age-Specific Life Expectancies and Values of Life Saving : A Numerical Analysis

To what extent can life protection account for observed diversities in age-specific life expectancies across individuals and over time? We provide answers via calibrated simulations of a life-cycle model where life's end is stochastic, and age-specific mortality hazards are ndogenous outcomes of life protection, set jointly with life insurance and annuities. Our model links mortality hazards and values of life saving (VLS) as quot;dual variablesquot;, and offers new insights about the measurement of VLS. Life protection is estimated to account for non-trivial portions of observed levels and inequalities in life expectancies and empirical estimates of VLS by age and education, and over time