Population subgroups are disproportionately exposed to and affected by current socio-environmental challenges. This leads to inequitable population health outcomes. Lifespan inequality has been a much-studied topic in demography over the last decade, but not lifespan inequity, i.e. inequality in the length of life that is ethically problematic. Questions about changes over time or differences between populations in the equity of health outcomes require a statistic of inequity developed in an ethically justified measurement framework. The aim of this project is to develop that framework by negotiating concepts from demography, philosophy, poverty measurement in economics, spatial planning and statistics.

The measurement framework is constructed in two steps according to the ethical assumptions of the capability approach and related mid-level theories of justice: 1.defining deaths that are ethically problematic, i.e. premature mortality; 2.deciding on the statistic to aggregate the distribution of premature deaths. In line with the objective of assessing socio-ecological transformative change, in the second step we account, through disproportionate weights, for the composition of the population in terms of the unequal distribution of environmental and social risks and the different resilience of its sub-populations. Measurement decisions are based on scoping reviews of the definitions in demography, global health policy and poverty studies. We reappraise the most commonly used inequality statistics to understand their statistical properties and measurement implications. Solutions to the disproportionate weight of vulnerable groups are developed in a spatial analysis of the exposure and resilience of Austrian municipalities to environmental and demographic challenges.