The Fogel Approach to Health and Growth

Abstract

According to Robert Fogel (1994a, 1994b), nutrition is the driving force for the increase in health human capital, which in turn has significantly promoted economic growth in the long run. In this paper, we take Fogel¡¯s finding to extend the standard Ramsey model by including the effect of consumption on nutrition and health human capital formation. It is demonstrated that there exist multiple equilibria in the modified Ramsey model with a subsistence level of consumption. That is to say, different countries may end up with different levels of long-run consumption, nutrition, health human capital, and physical capital.Health Human Capital, Consumption, Economic Growth, Poverty Trap