Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality

Shankha Chakraborty and Mausumi Das ()

No 119, Working papers from Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics

Abstract: Available evidence suggests high intergenerational correlation of economic status,and persistent disparities in health status between the rich and the poor. This paper proposes a novel mechanism linking the two. We introduce health human capital into a two-period overlapping generations model. Private health investment improves the probability of surviving from the first period of life to the next and, along with education, enhances an individual's labor productivity. Poorer parents are of poor health, unable to invest much in reducing mortality risk and improving their human capital. Consequently, they leave less for their progeny. Despite convex preferences, technology and complete markets, initial differences in economic and health status may perpetuate across generations.

Keywords: Life Expectancy; Health; Human Capital; Income Distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I20 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2003-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-edu and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality (2010)
Journal Article: Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality (2005)
Working Paper: Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality (2004)
Working Paper: Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality (2003)
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