ARE EDUCATIONAL DIFFERENTIALS IN ADULT MORTALITY INCREASING IN THE UNITED-STATES

Two recent studies have compared the size of educational mortality dif ferentials among adults in the 1980s to estimates for 1960. Both studi es have concluded that educational differentials have increased for ma les. One study finds a similar increase for females. We reconsider thi s question by introducing a data source that is better suited to estim ating recent differentials than either of the two that have been emplo yed. We also evaluate the quality of the 1960 baseline estimates and i ntroduce broader measures of inequality. We conclude that educational inequalities have widened for males but contracted for working-age fem ales. For both sexes, inequality trends are more adverse for persons a ged 65+ than for persons aged 25-64. The role of national health insur ance in shaping these trends is briefly considered.