Replication data for: Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Matteo Cervellati; Uwe Sunde

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	12/06/2019 10:43:AM
Simulation_Cervellati_Sunde_AER.m	text/plain	6.7 KB	12/06/2019 10:43:AM
nonlin_alower.m	text/plain	96 bytes	12/06/2019 10:43:AM
nonlin_astar.m	text/plain	88 bytes	12/06/2019 10:43:AM
readme_Simulation_Cervellati_Sunde_AER.pdf	application/pdf	40 KB	12/06/2019 10:43:AM

Project Citation:

Cervellati, Matteo, and Sunde, Uwe. Replication data for: Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2005. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-12-06. https://doi.org/10.3886/E116072V1

Project Description

Summary: We provide a unified theory of the transition in income, life expectancy, education, and population size from a nondeveloped environment to sustained growth. Individuals optimally trade off the time cost of education with its lifetime returns. Initially, low longevity implies a prohibitive cost for human capital formation for most individuals. A positive feedback loop between human capital and increasing longevity, triggered by endogenous skill-biased technological progress, eventually provides sufficient returns for widespread education. The transition is not based on scale effects and induces population growth despite unchanged fertility. A simulation illustrates that the dynamics fit historical data patterns.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      J11 Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      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-

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-12-06]

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