Disease and development: The role of life expectancy reconsidered

This note estimates the causal effect of life expectancy on per capita income and tests the hypothesis of a non-monotonic effect using finite mixture models. The results confirm the hypothesis and qualify recent evidence for a negative effect by Acemoglu and Johnson (2007).

► This note estimates the causal effect of life expectancy on economic growth. ► The hypothesis of a non-monotonic effect is tested using finite mixture models. ► The evidence supports the hypothesis of a non-monotonic effect of life expectancy. ► The results qualify earlier findings by Acemoglu and Johnson (2007).