Life during Growth

International Evidence on Quality of Life and Per Capita Income

Bibliographic Data

ID19909205
AuthorsWilliam Easterly (0000-0002-1207-2840, New York University, corresponding author)
Year1999
Publication date1999-11-30
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueWorld Bank policy research working paper (OTHER)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1813-9450
PublisherThe World Bank (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1596/1813-9450-2110
OpenAlexW1522934590
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers25 Jun 2013Life during Growth: International Evidence on Quality of Life and Per Capita IncomeAuthors/Editors: William EasterlyWilliam Easterlyhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2110SectionsAboutPDF (0.2 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:May 1999 Changes in a home country's quality-of-life indicators possibly depend as much on changes in world income as on changes in home country growth. The evidence that life gets better during growth is surprisingly uneven. The cross-country relationship between income and diverse indicators of the quality of life remains strong. Remarkably diverse indicators show quality of life across nations to be positively associated with per capita income. But changes in quality of life as income grows are surprisingly uneven. Moreover, in either level or changes, the effect of exogenous shifts over time is surprisingly strong. It is possible that changes in a home country's quality-of-life indicators depend as much on changes in world income as on changes in home country growth. The improvement in life expectancy everywhere, for example, may have reflected technical breakthroughs in antibiotics associated with world economic growth. The strong results on exogenous time shifts point in this direction. Easterly reaches this conclusion using a panel data set of 81 indicators covering up to four periods (1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990). The indicators cover seven subjects: health, education, individual rights and democracy, political instability and war, transport and communications, inequality across class and gender, and bads. With a seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) estimator in levels, per capita income has an impact on the quality of life that is significant, positive, and more important than exogenous shifts for 32 of 81 indicators. With a fixed effects estimator, growth has an impact on the quality of life that is significant, positive, and more important than exogenous shifts for 6 of 69 quality-of-life indicators. The evidence that life gets better during growth is surprisingly uneven. The cross-country relationship between income and diverse indicators of the quality of life remains strong. Easterly speculates about explanations for the pattern of results, such as the long and variable lags that may come between growth and changes in the quality of life, and the possibility that global socioeconomic progress is more important than home country growth for many quality-of-life indicators. This paper-a product of Macroeconomics and Growth, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the group to study the political economy determinants of policymaking. The author may be contacted at [email protected] Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByThe standard of living in Latin America during the twentieth centuryThe Economic History Review, Vol.58, No.4Policy Implications of Behavioural Economics: With Special Reference to the Optimal Level of Public SpendingThe Australian Economic Review, Vol.38, No.3Industrialization and Infant MortalitySSRN Electronic JournalGlobal Income Distribution 1965–98: Convergence and MarginalisationForum for Development Studies, Vol.28, No.1 View Published: November 1999 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsEast Asia & PacificRelated CountriesCzech RepublicIndonesiaSingaporeSlovak RepublicTimor-LesteRelated TopicsFinance and Financial Sector DevelopmentHealth Nutrition and PopulationMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthPoverty ReductionPrivate Sector DevelopmentRural DevelopmentSocial Protections and Labor KeywordsDEMOCRACYDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDROPOUTHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINDIVIDUAL RIGHTSINFANTINFANT MORTALITYLIFE EXPECTANCYMODERNIZATIONNATURAL RESOURCEPOLITICAL INSTABILITYPOLLUTIONPOVERTYQUALITY OF LIFERICHER COUNTRIESRULE OF LAWSOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURESOCIOECONOMIC PROGRESSWARWORKSHOP PDF DownloadLoading

Demographic economics · Development economics · Economics · Per capita · Per capita income · Quality of life (healthcare) · Sociology · Demography · Economic Growth and Productivity · Global Health Care Issues · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Psychology

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