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Darwin predicted that the fittest will leave
more offspring, and later fertility was compared with longevity by Karl
Pearson and others. Women who have late children are not healthier than
those who stop reproducing early due to early menopause (Eur J Obstet
Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2003, 110: 63-65). Links between childlessness and
longevity deserve MUCH more attention and remain inconclusive. Life-span may
not relate to fertility, being mainly economically influenced. Still,
longevity also has its own genes. The Struggle for Existence (1934) by Gause
(1910-1986), population mathematics by Volterra (1860-1940) and Lotka
(1880-1949) are important. Grinnell had put forth the same strategy in The
Auk, 1917, 34: 427. Economic competition as in games like Nash bargaining is
the keynote rather than longevity. The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior
by von Neumanns (1903-1957) and Morgenstern (1902-1977) appeared in 1947.
Correlation between longevity and income per capita (GDP, gross domestic
product) are the crucial yet severely neglected concerns.
The national financing of old age relates to pension strategies. Review
Social Security & Medicare. See
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec16291/index.htm |
