Disease and Development: A Reply to Bloom, Canning, and Fink

13 Pages Posted: 28 Apr 2014 Last revised: 12 May 2023

See all articles by Daron Acemoglu

Daron Acemoglu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Simon Johnson

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Entrepreneurship Center; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Date Written: April 2014

Abstract

Bloom, Canning, and Fink (2014) argue that the results in Acemoglu and Johnson (2006, 2007) are not robust because initial level of life expectancy (in 1940) should be included in our regressions of changes in GDP per capita on changes in life expectancy. We assess their claims controlling for potential lagged effects of initial life expectancy using data from 1900, employing a nonlinear estimator suggested by their framework, and using information from microeconomic estimates on the effects of improving health. There is no evidence for a positive effect of life expectancy on GDP per capita in this important historical episode.

Suggested Citation

Acemoglu, Daron and Johnson, Simon, Disease and Development: A Reply to Bloom, Canning, and Fink (April 2014). NBER Working Paper No. w20064, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2430021

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Simon Johnson

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