A closer look at the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth
(2009) International Journal of Economic Theory — Vol. 5, n° 2, p. 201-244 (2009)
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- Abstract
- We first provide a nonparametric inference of the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth using historical data for 18 countries over the period 1820–2005. The obtained shape indicates convexity for low enough values of life expectancy and concavity for large enough values.We then study this relationship using a benchmark model combining “perpetual youth” and learning-by-investing. The generated relationship between life expectancy and economic growth is shown to be strictly increasing and concave.We finally examine twomodels departing from “perpetual youth” by assuming successively age-dependent earnings and age-dependent survival probabilities. With age-dependent earnings, the obtained relationship is hump-shaped, whereas age-dependent survival laws reproduce the convex–concave shape detected in prior empirical study.
- Affiliations
Universiteit Maastricht Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre Université Louis Pasteur BETA-Theme
Citations
Azomahou, T. T., Boucekkine, R., & Diene, B. (2009). A closer look at the relationship between life expectancy and economic growth. International Journal of Economic Theory, 5(2), 201-244. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-7363.2009.00105.x (Original work published 2009)