Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan

Sasaki, Shusaku; Kurokawa, Hirofumi; Ohtake, Fumio

Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan

Sasaki, Shusaku; Kurokawa, Hirofumi; Ohtake, Fumio

Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers, 2018, 968, 1-8

Number of Access:567（2025-08-15 06:46 Counts）

Identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/11094/56974

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Title	Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan
Creator	NRID 1000020814586 1000020814586 researchmap permalink ssasaki_econ ssasaki_econ CreatorName Sasaki, Shusaku
	NRID 1000090811430 1000090811430 CreatorName Kurokawa, Hirofumi
	NRID 1000050176913 1000050176913 ORCID 0000-0002-8825-7446 0000-0002-8825-7446 researchmap permalink ohtake ohtake Scopus Author ID 6701666319 6701666319 CreatorName Ohtake, Fumio
Subject	Social Status
	Mortality
	Health Inequality
	Cox’s Proportional Hazard Model
	Time-dependent Covariates
	Time-dependent Parameters
Description	April 2016. Revised May 2017. Secondly Revised February 2018.
Abstract	It is widely believed that a rise in social status extends longevity. A handful number of studies examine datasets of candidates for prestigious prizes to exploit the causality. However, while some studies report positive relationships between receiving awards and recipients’ longevity, others report negative relationships. In this study, we show evidence that receiving a prize has both positive and negative causal effects on recipients’ longevity, by using a dataset covering Japan’s most prestigious and traditional literary recognitions, the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes. The results reveal that the recipients of the Akutagawa Prize for new or emerging novelists exhibit lower mortality than their fellow nominees. The increase in longevity is estimated at 1.4 years. By contrast, the recipients of the Naoki Prize mainly for established novelists report higher mortality than their fellow nominees, and the decreased longevity is estimated at 5.2 years. We discuss with additional empirical analyses that we are likely to find a life-prolonging effect from receiving a prize when candidates belong to a lower social stratum. In so doing, our findings provide narrative explanations for why earlier studies show conflicting relationships between receiving awards and recipients’ longevity.
Publisher	The Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University
Source Title	Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers
Volume (Issue)	968
Page	1-8
Date of Issued	2018-02
Language	English
Handle URL	https://hdl.handle.net/11094/56974
Relation.references	URI https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/static/resources/docs/dp/2016/DP0968RR.pdf
Access Rights	metadata only access
Category	ディスカッション／ワーキング・ペーパー DP/WP
Category	Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers
Date.Updated	2018-02

Resource Type	technical report
Local Type	DP/WP
DCMI Type	Text
DCTERMS.bibliographicCitation	Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers. 2018, 968, p. 1-8
DC.title	Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan
DC.creator	Sasaki, Shusaku
	Kurokawa, Hirofumi
	Ohtake, Fumio
DC.publisher	The Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University
DC.language' scheme='DCTERMS.RFC1766	English
DC.type' scheme='DCTERMS.DCMIType	Text
DCTERMS.issued' scheme='DCTERMS.W3CDTF	2018-02
DC.relation' scheme='DCTERMS.URI	https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/static/resources/docs/dp/2016/DP0968RR.pdf
DC.subject	Social Status
	Mortality
	Health Inequality
	Cox’s Proportional Hazard Model
	Time-dependent Covariates
	Time-dependent Parameters
DC.description	April 2016. Revised May 2017. Secondly Revised February 2018.
DCTERMS.abstract	It is widely believed that a rise in social status extends longevity. A handful number of studies examine datasets of candidates for prestigious prizes to exploit the causality. However, while some studies report positive relationships between receiving awards and recipients’ longevity, others report negative relationships. In this study, we show evidence that receiving a prize has both positive and negative causal effects on recipients’ longevity, by using a dataset covering Japan’s most prestigious and traditional literary recognitions, the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes. The results reveal that the recipients of the Akutagawa Prize for new or emerging novelists exhibit lower mortality than their fellow nominees. The increase in longevity is estimated at 1.4 years. By contrast, the recipients of the Naoki Prize mainly for established novelists report higher mortality than their fellow nominees, and the decreased longevity is estimated at 5.2 years. We discuss with additional empirical analyses that we are likely to find a life-prolonging effect from receiving a prize when candidates belong to a lower social stratum. In so doing, our findings provide narrative explanations for why earlier studies show conflicting relationships between receiving awards and recipients’ longevity.
DC.format	56974
citation_title	Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan
citation_author	Sasaki, Shusaku
	Kurokawa, Hirofumi
	Ohtake, Fumio
citation_publisher	The Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University
citation_language	English
citation_date	2018-02
citation_journal_title	Institute of Social and Economic Research Discussion Papers
citation_volume	968
citation_firstpage	1
citation_lastpage	8
citation_public_url	https://hdl.handle.net/11094/56974
citation_abstract_html_url	https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/static/resources/docs/dp/2016/DP0968RR.pdf

Positive and Negative Effects of Social Status on Longevity : Evidence from Two Literary Prizes in Japan

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