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Mortality, morbidity and economic growth

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  • Lorenzo Rocco
  • Elena Fumagalli
  • Andrew J Mirelman
  • Marc Suhrcke

Abstract

The question of whether and how changes to population health impact on economic growth has been actively studied in the literature, albeit with mixed results. We contribute to this debate by reassessing–and extending–[1], one of the most influential studies. We include a larger set of countries (135) and cover a more recent period (1990–2014). We also account for morbidity in addition to mortality and adopt the strategy of providing bounding sets for the effects of interest rather than point estimates. We find that reducing mortality and disability adjusted life years (DALYs), a measure which combines morbidity and mortality, promotes per capita GDP growth. The magnitude of the effect is moderate, but non negligible, and it is similar for mortality and DALYs.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Rocco & Elena Fumagalli & Andrew J Mirelman & Marc Suhrcke, 2021. "Mortality, morbidity and economic growth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0251424
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251424
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matteo Cervellati & Uwe Sunde, 2011. "Life expectancy and economic growth: the role of the demographic transition," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 99-133, June.
    2. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink, 2014. "Disease and Development Revisited," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(6), pages 1355-1366.
    3. Peter Lorentzen & John McMillan & Romain Wacziarg, 2008. "Death and development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 81-124, June.
    4. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson, 2007. "Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(6), pages 925-985, December.
    5. Muhammad Jami Husain, 2012. "Alternative Estimates of the Effect of the Increase of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(4), pages 3025-3035.
    6. Philippe Aghion, 2005. "Growth and Institutions," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 3-18, March.
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