Recent gains in life expectancy among the elderly have noticeably contributed to increasing average life expectancy in developed countries. The old and oldest old are reaching thresholds that were unthinkable 30 or 40 years ago. Are recent gains due to increased longevity among a growing...

Wilmoth John, Vallin Jacques and Caselli Graziella. ? Differences between observed and expected generation mortality. This analysis of the matrix of mortality rates in France by age and calendar year between 1899 and 1981 is based on a simple descriptive model that makes it possible to isolate...