This research explores the persistent effect of the Neolithic Revolution on the evolution of life expectancy in the course of human history. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the onset of the Neolithic Revolution and the associated rise in infectious diseases triggered...

This research explores the persistent effect of the Neolithic Revolution on the evolution of life expectancy in the course of human history. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the onset of the Neolithic Revolution and the associated rise in infectious diseases triggered...

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 constituted a strong exogenous shock on economic activity that compounded that of the First World War. In this paper, we condition the economic importance of these shocks on the level of economic freedom measured by the HIEL project (Prados de la Escosura 2016)...

In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of the role that health plays in economic develop­ment. We study cross-country differences in income and health and examine the underused value-of-­life and life-year gain measures. In particular, we compare two value-of-life measures, one...

Besides the biological and epidemiological factors, a multitude of social and economic criteria also govern the extent of the coronavirus disease spread within a population. Consequently, there is an active debate regarding the critical socio-economic determinants that contribute to the impact...

The globalization of COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts is set to run havoc across all economies in the world, throwing many into recession and possibly economic depression. As the numbers of infected and death cases rise sharply and recovery from the pandemic remains uncertain even in...

The current contagion that has rapidly spread all over the world mobilised impressive financial and sanitary resources in most of the affected countries. However, in the majority of cases these measures seem insufficient or inefficient, as the number of cases has exploded, while the increase in...

The historical prevalence of infectious diseases has had an enduring effect on innovation around the world. Building on the Parasite Stress Theory of Values, we propose a framework suggestive that the impact of historical disease pathogens on contemporary innovation is transmitted through the...

Education, general health, and reproductive health are key indicators of human development. Investments in these domains can also promote economic growth. This paper argues for the importance of human development related investments based on i) a theoretical economic growth model with poverty...

We empirically analyze the effect of UN and US economic sanctions on life expectancy and its gender gap in target countries. Our sample covers 98 less developed and newly industrialized countries over the period 1977–2012. We employ a matching approach to account for the endogeneity of...