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Aging and Death under a Dollar a Day

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  • Abhijit V. Banerjee
  • Esther Duflo

Abstract

This paper uses household survey data form several developing countries to investigate whether the poor (defined as those living under $1 or $2 dollars a day at PPP) and the non poor have different mortality rates in old age. We construct a proxy measure of longevity, which is the probability that an adult's mother and father are alive. The non-poor's mothers are more likely to be alive than the poor's mothers. Using panel data set for Indonesia and Vietnam, we also find that older adults are significantly more likely to have died five years later if they are poor. The direction of causality is unclear: the poor may be poor because they are sick (and thus more likely to die), or they could die because they are poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2007. "Aging and Death under a Dollar a Day," NBER Working Papers 13683, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13683
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elizabeth Frankenberg & James P. Smith & Duncan Thomas, 2003. "Economic Shocks, Wealth, and Welfare," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(2).
    2. Duncan Thomas & Elizabeth Frankenberg & James P. Smith, 2001. "Lost but Not Forgotten: Attrition and Follow-up in the Indonesia Family Life Survey," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(3), pages 556-592.
    3. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2007. "The Economic Lives of the Poor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 141-168, Winter.
    4. Angus Deaton, 2005. "Measuring Poverty," QA - Rivista dell'Associazione Rossi-Doria, Associazione Rossi Doria, issue 1, March.
      • Angus Deaton, 2004. "Measuring poverty," Working Papers 170, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    5. Abhijit Banerjee & Angus Deaton & Esther Duflo, 2004. "Wealth, Health, and Health Services in Rural Rajasthan," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 326-330, May.
    6. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_povertymeasured is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Banerjee, Abhijit Vinayak & Benabou, Roland & Mookherjee, Dilip (ed.), 2006. "Understanding Poverty," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195305203.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Schultz, T. Paul, 2010. "Population and Health Policies," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4785-4881, Elsevier.
    2. Armando Barrientos & Julia Mase, 2011. "Poverty transitions among older households in Brazil and South Africa," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 15011, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Sarmistha Pal & Robert Palacios, 2011. "Understanding Poverty among the Elderly in India: Implications for Social Pension Policy," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(7), pages 1017-1037.
    4. Barrientos, Armando, 2012. "What is the Role of Social Pensions in Asia?," ADBI Working Papers 351, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    5. Kaushal, Neeraj, 2014. "How Public Pension affects Elderly Labor Supply and Well-being: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 214-225.
    6. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2008. "What Is Middle Class about the Middle Classes around the World?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 3-28, Spring.
    7. Casabonne, Ursula & Kenny, Charles, 2012. "The Best Things in Life are (Nearly) Free: Technology, Knowledge, and Global Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 21-35.
    8. Mitra, Sophie & Posarac, Aleksandra & Vick, Brandon, 2013. "Disability and Poverty in Developing Countries: A Multidimensional Study," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-18.
    9. Gustavo Adolfo Caballero Orozco, 2010. "Risk Preferences Under Extreme Poverty: A Field Experiment," Documentos CEDE 7717, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    10. Luis Rene Caceres, 2022. "Idle Youth and Macroeconomics in Latin America," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(1), pages 1-98, January.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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