The contribution of female health to economic development

The costs of missing the Millennium Development Goal on gender equity

David E Bloom, Michael Kuhn and Klaus Prettner

The Economic Journal, 2020, vol. 130, issue 630, 1650-1677

Abstract: We analyse the economic consequences for poor countries of investing in female health within a unified growth model featuring health-related gender differences in productivity. Better female health accelerates the demographic transition and thereby the take-off towards sustained economic growth. By contrast, male health improvements delay the transition and take-off because they tend to raise fertility. However, households tend to prefer male health improvements over female health improvements because they imply a larger static utility gain. This highlights the existence of a dynamic trade-off between the short-run interests of households and long-run development goals.

Date: 2020
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Related works:
Working Paper: The contribution of female health to economic development (2016)
Working Paper: The contribution of female health to economic development (2016)
Working Paper: The Contribution of Female Health to Economic Development (2015)
Working Paper: The Contribution of Female Health to Economic Development (2015)
Working Paper: The contribution of female health to economic development (2015)
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