DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY AND THE FORMATION OF POLITICAL ELITES: THE CASE OF THE U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

This paper documents a substantial differential in the death rates of northern and southern Democrats in the U. S. House of Representatives. The mortality of southern Democrats is found to be quite lout in comparison to that of other American professional and white collar worker; while the mortality of northern Democrats is found to be excessive relative to that experienced by middle class Americans. Multiple decrement life table procedures are adapted to evaluate the impact of the mortality differential on the distribution of seniority in the House. The results show that low death rates are an important factor in the fashioning of the numerical advantage that Southerners hold among senior House Democrats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]