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Más de cien años de avances en el nivel de vida: El caso de Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Adolfo Meisel-Roca

    ()

  • Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri

    ()

  • María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo

    () (Banco de la República)

Abstract

Este trabajo examina las tendencias a largo plazo observadas en el nivel de vida de la población colombiana durante los últimos cien años, con especial atención a la salud. Construimos un índice histórico de desarrollo humano para Colombia (IHDHC) para los siglos XIX y XX por género. Encontramos que no hubo avances importantes en los niveles de vida durante el siglo XIX, debido principalmente al estancamiento del PIB per cápita. Por el contrario, se observaron avances significativos en el siglo XX, especialmente en las mujeres. Durante la primera mitad del siglo, las mejoras se debieron principalmente a un mayor ingreso per cápita, mientras que las posteriores a la década de 1950 fueron el resultado de una mayor inversión pública en educación y salud. Los datos en salud muestran que el porcentaje de muertes por tuberculosis, neumonía y enfermedades gastrointestinales disminuyó significativamente a lo largo del siglo. Por el contrario, las muertes causadas por cáncer y enfermedades del corazón aumentaron considerablemente en las últimas décadas. Los resultados indican que la disminución en la tasa de mortalidad estuvo relacionada en gran medida con la expansión en el suministro de servicios de acueductos y alcantarillado. ******ABSTRACT: This paper examines the long-term trends observed in the standard of living of the Colombian population during the past one hundred years, with special attention on health. We construct a historical index of human development for Colombia (HIHDC) for the 19th and 20th centuries by gender. We find that there were no major advances in living standards during the 19th century due to the stagnation of GDP per capita as a result of the lack of dynamism in exports. On the contrary, significant advances in the HIHDC were seen in the twentieth century, especially for women. During the first half of the 20th century, the improvements were mainly driven by a higher per capita income, while improvements after the 1950s were driven by greater public investment in education and health. The health data show that the percentage of deaths from tuberculosis, pneumonia, and gastrointestinal diseases decreased significantly throughout the century. On the contrary, deaths caused by cancer and heart diseases have increased considerably in recent decades. Results show that the decline in mortality rate was largely related with the expansion in the provision of public goods, namely aqueducts and sewerage services.

Suggested Citation

  • Adolfo Meisel-Roca & Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, 2018. "Más de cien años de avances en el nivel de vida: El caso de Colombia," Cuadernos de Historia Económica 46, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdr:cheedt:46
    DOI: 10.32468/chee.46
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    JEL classification:

    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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