In a recent paper, Acemoglu and Johnson (2007) argue that the large increases in population health witnessed in the 20th century may have lowered income levels. We argue that this result depends crucially on their assumption that initial health and income do not affect subsequent economic...

Population aging is emerging as a major demographic trend in many countries, with potentially important implications for a variety of macroeconomic issues. Notwithstanding these challenges, population aging will likely have a comparatively modest effect on economic growth. Although the changed...

We analyze panel data for 40 countries over the period 1970-2000 to examine the effect of social security reforms on the labor supply of older men. The data show a trend towards earlier retirement that can be explained by rising income levels. We find that the average retirement age rises...