Statistical methods to compare mortality for a group with non-divergent populations: an application to Spanish regions

This paper develops a model to compare geographical differences in the mortality of related regions, taking into account the interdependence between them. Additionally, the model allows us to provide an adequate solution for studying the mortality of a group pertaining to a larger population. It should therefore be possible to improve the mortality analysis for the regions in a country by taking into account the patterns within that country. Using official data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, INE), we applied a modification of the Lee-Carter model to Spanish regions. The results of this model were then compared with other similar models such as the logit Brass, Li and Lee and Russolillo-Giordano-Haberman. One interesting feature of our model is its simplicity, as the comparison of mortality patterns is accomplished by means of a simple index.