Economics Working Papers
Publication Date
9-2020
Number
Policy Research Working Paper 9418
Abstract
Exploiting cross–birth cohort and cross-country variation from a pool of 188 household surveys from 111 countries, this paper measures how life expectancy at birth affects lifetime education and earnings. On average, individuals add one year of schooling for every 8.3 years of increased life expectancy at birth. Lifetime earnings increase by 1.7 percent per year of added life expectancy at birth. The estimates imply that rising life expectancy at birth explains 75 percent of the increase in average years of schooling worldwide for birth cohorts between 1922 and 1987 and 38 percent of the increase in average gross domestic product per capita in the 20th century.
JEL Classification
I12, I15, I21, J24, O11, O15
Publication Status
This is a working paper from Hoque, Mohammad Mainul; King, Elizabeth M.; Montenegro, Claudio E.; Orazem, Peter F.. 2020. Life Expectancy at Birth and Lifetime Education and Earnings. Policy Research Working Paper; No. 9418. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/34556 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Departments
Department of Economics, Iowa State University
File Format
application/pdf
Length
66 pages
Recommended Citation
Hoque, Mohammad Mainul; King, Elizabeth M.; Montenegro, Claudio E.; and Orazem, Peter F., "Life Expectancy at Birth and Lifetime Education and Earnings" (2020). Economics Working Papers: Department of Economics, Iowa State University. Policy Research Working Paper 9418.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/econ_workingpapers/122
Included in
Behavioral Economics Commons, Education Commons, Health Economics Commons, Macroeconomics Commons
