Aging as a social product

Life expectancy at birth is possibly the most succint and revealing indicator of the level of development and effectiveness of a nation’s public policies. In Brazil, national averages hide differences that the technical eye should not overlook. A recent study developed by the Institute for Mobility and Social Development (IMDS) in partnership with Cedeplar/UFMG, focused on the intersection between territory, sex and skin color, reveals that longevity in the country is a process stemming from differences between men and women and the result of an unequal distribution of social assets and state protection.