Socioeconomic inequality and death rates: comparing two types of Israeli kibbutz communities Uriel Leviatan (leviatan@soc.Haifa.ac.il) Institute for Kibbutz Research and Dept. of Sociology University of Haifa, Israel Paper presented at the 2017 Annual conference of ISQOLS, Innsbruck, Austria, 27-30/9/2017

Social and economic equality is a central ideological principle and a basis for social conduct of traditional kibbutz communities. This is best expressed in kibbutz by-laws (1972) in its section of “goals and assumptions”: as follows: “Kibbutz is a free association of people for the purpose of the … existence of a communal society based on principles of public ownership of property, … equality and participation in all domains of production, consumption and education..” …Kibbutz Goals are [among others]:… To develop and promote friendship and fraternity among its members. To develop and promote members’ personality, personal ability and collective ability in the spheres of economy, social, culture, science, and art.”

Traditional kibbutz ideology aims at a very comprehensive equality among members in all domain of life, including the subjective level (friendship and fraternity). The aspired equality in kibbutzim is expressed in its purest sense – according to individual uniqueness (kibbutz lingo defines it qualitative equality). This was manifested in many domains. For instance: equality in decision making expressed by mechanisms such as the “general assembly”, “managerial rotation”, “decentralization” of influence by elected committees. Equality in consumption was mostly established on the principle of “to each according to his/her needs” (that is, recognizing the legitimacy of uniqueness in needs and abilities of each individual member).

Research  during the 1970s to 1990s showed kibbutz population to have life expectancy significantly above that of the rest of the Jewish population in Israel and it was among the highest in the Industrial world.  

8/20/2012

High level of life expectancy was due to much lower gender-and-age specific death rates at the ages 50 and above: on average a rate of about 65% compared to that of the Jewish population for the years 1975-1997. This in comparison to a rate of about 85% for the ages 30-49 8/20/2012

Age (15-49) by gender specific mortality rates (per 1000 alive) for kibbutz permanent population (Kibb) and for Israeli Jews (Isr) at three years (1977, 1984, 1995). (red numbers signify lower rates in comparison with same gender and age of the compared population)   Males Females Year 1977 1984 1995 Population Kibb Isr Age group 15-19 0.59 0.74 1.0 0.7 0.44 0.6 0.30 0.29 0.28 0.3 20-24 1.46 1.16 0.8 1.98 0.56 0.45 0.40 0.4 0.35 24-29 0.9 0.89 0.46 30-34 1.40 1.10 0.47 0.60 0.5 0.27 35-39 1.43 1.2 1.21 0.71 0.90 0.77 40-44 2.58 2.40 1.4 1.9 1.08 1.6 0.86 1.50 0.99 1.3 1.32 45-49 4.05 3.90 2.8 3.8 1.88 1.54 2.70 1.26 2.3 1.12

Age (50-79) by gender specific mortality rates (per 1000 alive) for kibbutz permanent population (Kibb) and for Israeli Jews (Isr) at three years (1977, 1984, 1995). (red numbers signify lower rates in comparison with same gender and age of the compared population)   Males Females Year 1977 1984 1995 Population Kibb Isr Age group 50-54 5.06 7.00 3.6 6.5 3.36 4.7 3.27 4.20 2.06 3.8 1.97 2.3 55-59 8.22 11.60 7.2 11.0 5.39 8.1 5.02 8.30 3.97 6.4 4.30 4.9 60-64 14.15 18.90 11.2 16.8 7.71 13.8 7.08 13.70 6.49 10.9 7.27 8.5 65-69 18.72 30.70 17.6 26.7 14.34 23.3 13.78 22.20 11.58 19.1 8.56 14.5 70-74 32.32 51.40 27.8 45.4 27.78 37.0 21.54 40.10 16.87 32.0 16.07 26.0 75-79 62.23 77.90 42.9 72.6 46.02 61.2 44.16 69.30 21.51 57.7 30.57 46.4

Research suggested this to be the result of social arrangements in kibbutz communities as based on the principles of strong equality among members.

Examples of social arrangement that stem from adherence to “qualitative equality” on traditional kibbutzim Jobs for every one, at all ages , appropriate for their skills and limitations. Top level, free medical care and prevention (physical and mental) according to needs. Top level free education for all ages. Assuming community responsibility for the aged, the bereaved, the sick, the lonesome , and the handicapped. Involvement of all ages in the running of community matters. Employing organizational mechanisms to ensure participations of largest possible number of members in decision making and influence in kibbutz life matters (direct democracy, rotations of office holders, rule by committees, decentralization of influence). Ensuring same remuneration and standard of living for all members with exceptions according to unique individual needs.

Starting in the 1990s, many kibbutzim transformed themselves by introducing differential salary arrangements so that remuneration became based on level of job or office rather than on unique personal needs. Thus, introducing both social and economic inequalities among their members. Gradually giving up on most social arrangements enumerated in the previous slide.

Transformation of traditional kibbutzim into “differential” kibbutzim happened gradually out of the close to 270 kibbutzim in 1993 still not one kibbutz was “differential”; in 1996 – 6% of kibbutzim transformed into being "differential"; in 1999 – 21% of kibbutzim transformed; in 2002 – 52%; in 2005 – 71%, in 2008 – 75%, in 2014 -- 78% .

As the number of transformed kibbutzim increased, the government enacted a new by-law (Government of Israel, 2005) to differentiate between traditional and transformed (differential) kibbutzim. An important defining characteristic for transformed kibbutzim was as follows: "Distribution of personal budgets [remuneration] to members according to their office/position, contribution, or tenure." Thus, kibbutzim transformed so that "equity" rather than “qualitative equality” became their new guiding principle of equality.

Research that compared "transformed/differential" kibbutzim to "traditional" ones (while controlling for all outside variables such as size, biography, culture, economic situation, , demography of communities, geography of location) showed the population of "traditional" kibbutzim to have higher levels of social capital and more positive expressions of health and wellbeing.

Yet, missing was an “acid test” of differences in death rates between the two populations. Such a test was not possible until now due to the short time since the transformed kibbutzim became such. This can be tested now.

I compared age and gender specific death rates between the ages of 50-79 for two populations: the population of kibbutzim which "transformed" on or before 2002 (99 kibbutzim and about 46000), and for kibbutzim which where "traditional" at least until 2013 (61 communities and about 31000). The compared death rates were for the years 1996-2015 (for intervals of five years and for population cohorts of five years) .

Age (50-79) and gender specific death rates for two populations: Traditional and Differential kibbutzim for the years 1996-2015 (red numbers indicate higher death rates in comparison with commensurate rates) Differential kibbutzim Traditional kibbutzim   Males 1996- 2000 2001- 2005 2006- 2010 2011- 2015 Age groups // years 3.6 2.4 3.3 2.2 2.9 1.9 3.5 50-54 5.6 4.7 2.8 3 1.4 4.0 55-59 8.3 5.8 6.7 6.6 7.0 6.3 6.1 60-64 13.5 10.8 10.7 9.5 11.3 11.5 9.4 9 65-69 29.5 23.5 15.2 15 20.7 25.8 19.8 11.7 70-74 48.7 37 30.9 29.2 42.1 37.4 29.1 28 75-79 Females 1.0 2.0 0.9 3.1 2.6 3.4 2.7 3.7 4.5 4.3 4.1 5.5 4.6 8.6 9.1 7 5.4 6.9 6.4 5 17.5 18.5 9.8 8.8 13.4 11 13.2 8.1 33.2 27.3 25.5 17.6 21.9 18.9 17.1 17.4

Statistical results of comparing death rates of traditional and transformed kibbutz populations for ages 50-79 and years 1996-2015 – groups of 5 years (for all, and separate for each gender) Student t difference: All (48 comparisons) = 2.66; p<.006 Males (24 comparisons) =2.22; p<.03 Females (24 comparisons) = 1.87;p<.04 Non Parametric Sign Test: All (48 comparisons) p<.007 Males (24 comparisons) = p<.052 Females (24 comparisons) =p<.093

Interestingly, differences between the two female populations were smaller compared to those of the male populations. Meaning that the adoption of socioeconomic inequality affected males more. I have speculations about why this is so, but will leave it for another discussion.

Another way of understanding the magnitude of difference in death rates between the two populations is to calculate the number of deaths in the population of the “differential/ transformed” kibbutzim, for each gender and for all, for the years 1996-2015 under the condition that death rates in that population were the same as in the population of the “traditional kibbutzim”, and to calculate the savings in the number of lives that could be. This is shown in the next slide.

Savings in number and % of lives Males 1014 916 (9.6%) 98 Females 759 Number of deaths in the years 1996-2015 for the “differential/transformed” kibbutzim. Actual numbers and what it could be (Potential deaths) with the death rates in traditional kibbutzim Years 1996-2015   All 1773 Actual deaths 1593 Potential deaths 180 (10.2%) Savings in number and % of lives Males 1014 916 (9.6%) 98 Females 759 677 82 (10.8%)

Thus , it seems that nourishing equality among members of society contributes in a major way to the lowering of death rates at advanced ages. And this is probably due to the expression of equality by way of social arrangements. I want to point our three remarkable conclusions: The ultimate expression of inequality in higher death rates occurs after such a short period – around one decade. Difference in death rates occur even though the level of inequality in the differential kibbutzim is very minor compared to level of inequality in society around them. Since the effect of inequality on death rates is mediated by levels of social capital and than indices of morbidity and lower levels of wellbeing, the direct relationship of inequality to death rate should be difficult to detect, yet here it is quite sizeable.

Comparison with Israeli Jews for the years 2011-2915 Finally, to show you that all is relative and even the level of equality and its results. In comparison with the Jewish population in Israel, both kibbutz populations are still having much lower death rates at older ages. Saving of lives in the Israeli Jewish population if death rates at these ages were like those in the kibbutzim would be around 20%.

Death rates by age (50-79) and gender – two types of kibbutzim and Jews in Israel , 2011-2015 Males Females Age group Traditional Differential Jews   50-54 2.2 3.4 0.9 1.0 2.0 55-59 4.0 3 5.3 3.1 60-64 6.1 6.6 8.3 3.6 4.1 4.9 65-69 9 9.5 12.8 5 5.4 7.7 70-74 11.7 15 21.8 8.1 8.8 13.8 75-79 28 29.2 37.3 17.4 17.6 25.8

Thank you for your interest