Public and Private Expenditures on Health in a Growth Model

This paper introduces endogenous longevity in an otherwise standard overlapping generations model with capital. In the model, a young agent may increase the length of her old age by incurring investments in health funded from her wage income. Such private health investments are assumed to be more "productive" if accompanied by complementary tax-financed public health programs. The presence of such a complementary public input in private longevity is shown to expose the economy to aggregate endogenous fluctuations and even chaos, and such volatility is impossible in its absence. In particular, the model is capable of generating dramatic reversals in life expectancy as has been observed in many countries.chaos; longevity; public health

Endogenous lifetime and economic growth revisited

Chakraborty [Journal of Economic Theory, 2004] introduces endogenous mortality in a two period overlapping generations model by postulating that the probability of surviving from the first period to the second depends on tax-funded public health. His central result on the existence of multiple steady states (including development traps) summarized in Proposition 1 is incorrect. This paper presents the correct proposition and its proof, and in the process, uncovers several new, interesting results. Contrary to Chakraborty's analysis, high mortality yet high capital nations may not be able to escape the poverty trap. Interestingly, TFP growth can help economies escape the vicious cycle of poverty.

Unsafe Sex, AIDS, and Development

Much of Africa has been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. There, heterosexual contact is the primary mode of transmission for the HIV virus. Even when access to condoms is good and their price low, a large fraction of young Africans continue to engage in unprotected sex. In this paper, we propose a simple two period rational model of sexual behavior that has the potential to explain why a large proportion of sexual activity in poor countries maybe unprotected. In the model economy, even when agents are perfectly cognizant of the risk involved in unsafe sexual activity, and fully internalize the effects of their own sexual behavior on their chance of catching the virus, they may rationally choose to engage in such risky behavior. Our results indicate that safe sexual practice is essentially a "normal good" and that development may be key to reducing HIV infectivity.AIDS; rational choice; sexual behavior; safe sex

Public and private expenditures on health in a growth model

This paper introduces endogenous longevity in an otherwise standard overlapping generations model with capital. In the model, a young agent may increase the length of her old age by incurring investments in health funded from her wage income. Such private health investments are assumed to be more productive if accompanied by complementary tax-financed public health programs. The presence of such a complementary public input in private longevity is shown to expose the economy to aggregate endogenous fluctuations and even chaos, and such volatility is impossible in its absence. In particular, the model is capable of generating dramatic reversals in life expectancy as has been observed in many countries

Endogenous Lifetime and Economic Growth Revisited

Chakraborty [Journal of Economic Theory, 2004] introduces endogenous mortality in a two period overlapping generations model by postulating that the probability of surviving from the first period to the second depends on tax−funded public health. His central result on the existence of multiple steady states (including development traps) summarized in Proposition 1 is incorrect. This paper presents the correct proposition and its proof, and in the process, uncovers several new, interesting results. Contrary to Chakraborty\u27s analysis, high mortality yet high capital nations may not be able to escape the poverty trap. Interestingly, TFP growth can help economies escape the vicious cycle of poverty