Mon., Apr. 2, 2012

Understanding Differences in Health Behaviors by Education

University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center
College of Public Health, Room 150

Dr. Adriana Lleras-Muney
Associate Professor in Dept. of Economics at UCLA

In 1990, a 25 year-old male college graduate could expect to live another 54 years. A high school dropout of the same age could expect to live 8 years fewer.  This enormous difference in life expectancy by education is true for every demographic group, is persistent – if not increasing – over time  and is present in other countries.  Using a variety of data sets from two countries, Lleras-Muney will examine possible explanations for the relationship between education and health behaviors, known as the education gradient.

Sponsor: 
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Public Health

About the Speaker:
Dr. Adriana Lleras-Muney is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at UCLA. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and was an assistant professor of economics in the Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton University for seven years. Her research examines the relationships between socio-economic status (in particular, education) and health; the effect of disease on income and economic development; and the determinants of fertility. She is also a faculty fellow at the California Center for Population Research and the National Bureau of Economic Research.