Abstract
This paper is based on the results of my diploma thesis (Kašpar, 2014) and an article that I participated (Hulíková Tesárková et al., 2015). It is focused on convergence and divergence tendencies of mortality.
Two questions are solved: (1) Why should we focus on these tendencies (theoretical background)? (2) How can we measure these tendencies (analytical part)?First, reasons why it is important to study convergence and divergence tendencies of mortality will be summarize. Among others, relationship between these tendencies and most important demographic theoretical concepts will be mentioned.
Secondly, possible ways to analyze convergence and divergence tendencies of mortality will be shown. Close attention will be paid to method based on extrapolation of past mortality trend to the future.
This approach was applied in our article to quantification and visualization of convergence tendencies of mortality in the Czech Republic and other developed European countries (Hulíková Tesárková et al., 2015).