Editing Life expectancy (section)

==Policy uses==
Life expectancy is one of the factors in measuring the [[Human Development Index]] (HDI) of each nation along with adult literacy, education, and standard of living.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/6.html|title=International Human Development Indicators—UNDP|publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org|access-date=4 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420030845/http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/6.html|archive-date=20 April 2009}}</ref>

Life expectancy is used in describing the [[physical quality-of-life index|physical quality of life]] of an area. It is also used for an individual when the value of a life settlement is determined a life insurance policy is sold for a cash asset.{{Clarify|reason=Hard to understand due to sentence structure and wording.|date=November 2022}}

Disparities in life expectancy are often cited as demonstrating the need for better medical care or increased social support. A strongly associated indirect measure is [[income inequality]]. For the top 21 industrialized countries, if each person is counted equally, life expectancy is lower in more unequal countries (r = −0.907).<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=De Vogli R, Mistry R, Gnesotto R, Cornia GA|title=Has the relation between income inequality and life expectancy disappeared? Evidence from Italy and top industrialised countries|journal=Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health|volume=59|issue=2|pages=158–162|date=February 2005|pmid=15650149|pmc=1733006|doi=10.1136/jech.2004.020651|doi-access=free}}</ref> There is a similar relationship among states in the U.S. (r = −0.620).<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kaplan GA, Pamuk ER, Lynch JW, Cohen RD, Balfour JL|title=Inequality in income and mortality in the United States: analysis of mortality and potential pathways|journal=The BMJ|volume=312|issue=7037|pages=999–1003|date=April 1996|pmid=8616393|pmc=2350835|doi=10.1136/bmj.312.7037.999|doi-access=free}}</ref>