Wealthier is Healthier

1996/01/01 by Lant Pritchett, Lawrence H. Summers · 1,335 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Health Professions · Medicine · #Economic Growth and Productivity #Economics #Environmental health #Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth #Global Health Care Issues #Medicine

paper · open access · doi:10.2307/146149

published in The Journal of Human Resources 31(4), 841 (University of Wisconsin Press)

openalex publication_date 1996/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

We estimate the effect of income on health using cross-country, time-series data on health (infant and child mortality and life expectancy) and income per capita. We use instrumental variables estimates using exogenous determinants of income growth to identify the pure income effect on health, isolated from reverse causation or incidental association. The long-run income elasticity of infant and child mortality in developing countries lies between -0.2 and -0.4. Using these estimates, we calculate that over a half a million child deaths in the developing world in 1990 alone can be attributed to the poor economic performance in the 1980s.

Citations

• Specification Tests in Econometrics

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