Cause of Death and Development in the US

38 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2012 Last revised: 11 Feb 2014

See all articles by Casper Worm Hansen

Casper Worm Hansen

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics; University of Copenhagen

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Exploiting cross-state variation in infectious causes of death, together with time variation arising from medical innovations toward the middle of the twentieth century, this study examines the consequences of a positive health shock within US states. It establishes that states with higher levels of mortality from infectious causes prior to the onset of the era of big medicine experienced greater increases in life expectancy, population, and total GDP after its onset, whereas per capita GDP remained largely unchanged. Together the evidence suggests that the rise in life expectancy had an insignificant effect on living standards in the US during the period 1940--2000. The results are robust to controlling for initial health and initial economic conditions.

Keywords: Economic growth; Medical innovations; Second US Mortality Revolution; Population growth; US states

JEL Classification: I15, J24, O11, O51

Suggested Citation

Hansen, Casper Worm and Hansen, Casper Worm, Cause of Death and Development in the US (2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2181403 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2181403

Casper Worm Hansen (Contact Author)

University of Copenhagen ( email )

Nørregade 10
Copenhagen, København DK-1165
Denmark

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics ( email )

Øster Farimagsgade 5
Copenhagen K, DK 1153
Denmark

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