We test the view that the large differences in income levels we see across the world are due to differences in the intrinsic geography of each country against the alternative view that there are poverty traps. We reject simple geographic determinism in favor of a poverty trap model with high-...

We explore the proposition that expected longevity affects retirement decisions and accumulated wealth using micro data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study for the United States. We use data on a person's subjective probability of survival to age 75 as a proxy for their prospective...

We develop a life-cycle model of optimal retirement and savings behavior under complete markets where retirement is caused by worsening health in old age. Our model explains the long-run decline in the age of retirement as an income level effect. We show that improvements in health and longevity...

Debates over the economic effects of demographic change have been raging for over 200 years. Since Thomas Malthus hypothesised in 1798 that rapid population growth would stretch the earth’s resources beyond the breaking point, leading to mass starvation and death, demographers and economists...

We assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals’ health care utilization and spending in the Oyo and Plateau states of Nigeria and income foregone from work time lost. Data was from a 2004 survey of nearly 1,500 households, including 482 individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Estimating the effect...

There are two approaches to reducing the burden of sickness and death associated with HIV/AIDS: treatment and prevention. With limited resources, should the focus be on prevention or treatment? I discuss the range of prevention and treatment alternatives, examine their cost effectiveness, and...

There is strong evidence that, in addition to individual and household characteristics, social interactions are important in determining fertility rates. Social interactions can lead to a multiplier effect where an individual’s ideas, and fertility choice, can affect the fertility decisions of...

There are two approaches to reducing the burden of sickness and death associated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): treatment and prevention. Despite large international aid flows for HIV/AIDS, the needs for prevention and...

For decades, economists and social thinkers have debated the influence of population change on economic growth. Three alternative positions define this debate: that population growth restricts, promotes, or is independent of economic growth. Proponents of each explanation can find evidence to...

Among Africa’s problems, chronic poverty and poor health stand out. Traditional development thinking has maintained that health improvements are a consequence of income growth. But new evidence shows that investing in health, with the aid of the international community, could make a big...