American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
ISSN 1945-7707 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7715 (Online)
The Economic and Demographic Transition, Mortality, and Comparative Development
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
vol. 7,
no. 3, July 2015
(pp. 189–225)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
This paper develops a quantifiable unified growth theory to investigate cross-country comparative development. The calibrated model can replicate the historical development dynamics in forerunner countries like Sweden and the patterns in cross-country panel data. The findings suggest a crucial role of the timing of the onset of the economic and demographic transition for explaining differences in development. Country-specific differences in extrinsic mortality are a candidate explanation for differences in the timing of the take-off across countries and the resulting worldwide comparative development patterns, including the bimodal distribution of the endogenous variables across countries. (JEL I12, J11, J13, N33, N34, O41, O47)Citation
Cervellati, Matteo, and Uwe Sunde. 2015. "The Economic and Demographic Transition, Mortality, and Comparative Development." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 7 (3): 189–225. DOI: 10.1257/mac.20130170Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- J11 Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- N33 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: Europe: Pre-1913
- N34 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: Europe: 1913-
- O41 One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
- O47 Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence