Growth and enduring epidemic diseases

Arbeitspapier

This paper studies the formation of human capital and its transmission across generations when premature adult mortality is a salient feature of the demographic landscape, either permanently or in the form of a long-period wave that follows the outbreak of an epidemic. We establish several threshold properties of the model, for such a shock can severely retard economic growth, even to the point of leading to an economic collapse. Premature adult mortality may exacerbate inequality under nuclear family arrangements. Pooling mortality risks with equal treatment of all children may fend off, or even induce, a collapse, depending on the initial conditions and the size and duration of the shock. Awareness campaigns may also trigger a collapse by introducing undesirable expectational feedbacks.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 1729

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health: General ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General
• Subject: Epidemie ; AIDS ; Sterblichkeit ; Eltern ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Humankapital ; Steady-State-Wachstum

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bell, Clive ; Gersbach, Hans
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2006

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/25774
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET