Mortality rates have fallen dramatically over time, starting in a few countries in the 18th century, and continuing to fall today. In just the past century, life expectancy has increased by over 30 years. At the same time, mortality rates remain much higher in poor countries, with a difference in life expectancy between rich and poor countries of also about 30 years. This difference persists despite the remarkable progress in health improvement in the last half century, at least until the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In both the time-series and the cross-section data, there is a strong correlation between income per capita and mortality rates, a correlation that also exists within countries, where richer, better-educated people live longer. We review the determinants of these patterns: over history, over countries, and across groups within countries. While there is no consensus about the causal mechanisms, we tentatively identify the application of scientific advance and technical progress (some of which is induced by income and facilitated by education) as the ultimate determinant of health. Such an explanation allows a consistent interpretation of the historical, cross-country, and within-country evidence. We downplay direct causal mechanisms running from income to health.
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Paper provided by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing. in its series Working Papers with number
235.
David Cutler & Angus Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2005.
"The Determinants of Mortality,"
Working Papers
164, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
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David M. Cutler & Angus S. Deaton & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2006.
"The Determinants of Mortality,"
NBER Working Papers
11963, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Angus Deaton, 2004.
"Health in an age of globalization,"
Working Papers
245, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing..
[Downloadable!]
Angus Deaton, 2004.
"Health in an age of globalization,"
Working Papers
172, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
[Downloadable!]
David E. Bloom & David Canning & Mark Weston, 2005.
"The Value of Vaccination,"
World Economics,
World Economics, NTC Economic & Financial Publishing, PO Box 69, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, RG9 1GB, vol. 6(3), pages 15-39, July.
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