Life expectancy and human capital: Evidence from the international epidemiological transition

Casper Hansen

Journal of Health Economics, 2013, vol. 32, issue 6, 1142-1152

Abstract: Exploiting preintervention variation in mortality from various infectious diseases, together with the time variation arising from medical breakthroughs in the late 1940s and the 1950s, this study examines how a large positive shock to life expectancy influenced the formation of human capital within countries during the second half of the 20th century. The results establish that the rise in life expectancy was behind a significant part of the increase in human capital over this period. According to the baseline estimate, for one additional year of life expectancy, years of schooling increase by 0.17 year. Moreover, the evidence suggests that declines in pneumonia mortality are the underlying cause of this finding, indicating that improved childhood health increases human capital investments.

Keywords: Life expectancy; Health shock; Cohort schooling data; Economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 J24 O11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:32:y:2013:i:6:p:1142-1152

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.09.011

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