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The population growth rate is linked to the distribution of age at death. We demonstrate that this link arises because both the birth and death rates depend on the variance of age-at-death. This bears the prospect to separate the influences of the age patterns of fertility and mortality on population growth rate. Here, we show how the age pattern of death affects population growth. Using this insight we derive a new approximation of the population growth rate that uses the first and second moments of the age-at-death distribution. We apply our new approximation to 46 mammalian life tables (including humans) and show that it is on par with the most prominent other approximations.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.tpb.2012.09.003

Type

Journal article

Journal

Theor Popul Biol

Publication Date

12/2012

Volume

82

Pages

244 - 252

Keywords

Age Factors, Humans, Models, Theoretical, Mortality, Population Growth