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The impact of adult and non-adult mortality on development: Two centuries evidence from a panel of industrial countries

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  • Herzer, Dierk
  • Nagel, Korbinian

Abstract

This study examines the effects of adult and non-adult mortality on the long-run level of income in a heterogeneous dynamic and cross-sectionally dependent panel. Employing data for 20 countries between 1800 and 2010, it is found that (i) while non-adult mortality has no long-run effect on GDP per capita, reductions in adult mortality lead to statistically and economically significant increases in the long-run level of per capita income; (ii) there are no significant differences in the long-run effects of adult mortality and non-adult mortality on GDP per capita before and after the onset of the demographic transition; and (iii) mortality in middle adulthood has the greatest impact on economic development, whereas early adulthood mortality and mortality in later adulthood have little to no impact on the long-run level of per capita income.

Suggested Citation

  • Herzer, Dierk & Nagel, Korbinian, 2019. "The impact of adult and non-adult mortality on development: Two centuries evidence from a panel of industrial countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 352-371.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:41:y:2019:i:2:p:352-371
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2019.02.008
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    2. Abrams M. E. Tagem, 2023. "The dynamic effects of aid and taxes on government spending," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(6), pages 1656-1687, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Life expectancy; Adult mortality; Non-adult mortality; Economic development; Cross-sectional dependence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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