New evidence on life expectancy and development: is Sub-Saharan Africa different?

Charlie Yves Ngoudji Tameko and Paul Ningaye

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper applies the standard β-convergence analysis and the log-t test methods to compare the convergence process of life expectancy and per capita GDP, using a sample of 89 countries between 1960-2019 and analyse the interrelation and the dynamics of these phenomena in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) after the international epidemiological transition. We use life expectancy at birth and per capita GDP estimates from respectively the World Bank’s Population Estimates and Projections and the Penn World Table. Our results show evidence of significant catching-up in life expectancy between SSA countries and the rich and the other poor world by 2019 after a slowdown period between 1985 and 2000 in which most SSA countries converge into multiple steady states. Further, we find that the world without SSA is converging economically in 2019 while significant cross-country variations and convergence clubs are noted when taking into consideration the region. Finally, our results indicate that the economic performances of SSA are not the only factors driving the health catch-up, the increasing convergence in the antimalarial policies’ implementation in SSA after 2003 play great role in this process.

Keywords: life expectancy; per capita GDP; convergence; health; economic growth; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I15 O11 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-gro
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:117265

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