Barriers to prosperity: Parasitic and infectious diseases, IQ, and economic development

Jakob B. Madsen

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.10.032

Barriers to prosperity: Parasitic and infectious diseases, IQ, and economic development

Jakob B. Madsen

Department of Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

IQ scores differ substantially across nations. This study argues that cross-country variations in IQ scores, to a large extent, reflect the burden of parasitic and infectious diseases (PIDs) and iron and iodine deficiency (IID) in infancy and in utero. Furthermore, it is shown that the prevalence of health insults, through the channel of cognitive ability, is influential for the level as well as the growth in productivity across the world. Using data for 181 countries and an instrumental variable approach, regressions reveal that the prevalence of PID-IIDs is influential for growth and income inequalities globally.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	172-187
Number of pages	16
Journal	World Development
Volume	78
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.10.032
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2016

Keywords

Cognitive ability
Cross-country income inequality
Parasitic and infectious diseases

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10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.10.032

Link to publication in Scopus

2 Finished

Growth, IQ, Diseases, and the Great Demographic Transition
Madsen, J. & Ang, B.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
3/01/12 → 29/12/15
Project: Research
The Great Divergence, Long-run Growth and Unified Theories of Economic Growth
Madsen, J. & Peretto, P.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
4/01/11 → 31/12/15
Project: Research

Cite this

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Barriers to prosperity: Parasitic and infectious diseases, IQ, and economic development

Abstract

Keywords

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Projects

Growth, IQ, Diseases, and the Great Demographic Transition

The Great Divergence, Long-run Growth and Unified Theories of Economic Growth

Cite this