TITLE:
The Timing of Mortality Decline and Human Capital Accumulation
AUTHORS:
Yusuke Hirota
KEYWORDS:
Human Capital Accumulation, Timing of Mortality Decline, Economic Development
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.6 No.1,
February
3,
2016
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we
rigorously reinvestigate the effects of childhood mortality decline during
different periods on human capital accumulation and economic development. For
this purpose, we extend the basic framework of Azarnert (2006) by dividing
childhood among three periods—early childhood (the period prior to school
enrolment), school age (the school-enrolment period), and late childhood (the period
posterior to school enrolment)—and assume a constant mortality rate for each
period. We arrive at the following conclusions. The mortality decline after
school age promotes human capital accumulation and economic development. The
mortality decline after early childhood impedes human capital accumulation and
economic development, but has no effect on the same after late childhood.