DP8524 Life Expectancy and Schooling: New Insights from Cross-Country Data

Author(s):	Moshe Hazan
Publication Date:	August 2011
Keyword(s):	Human Capital, Life expectancy
JEL(s):	J24, O11
Programme Areas:	Public Economics, Development Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=8524

I argue that distinguishing between life expectancy at birth and life expectancy beyond the crucial early childhood years affects the relationship between life expectancy and schooling in a meaningful way. In particular, I show that while the change in life expectancy at birth between 1960 and 1990 is positively correlated with percentage change in schooling, the change in life expectancy at age 5 is, at best, uncorrelated with percentage change in schooling. This evidence weakens the quantitative importance of increasing life horizon beyond the early crucial childhood years for formal acquisition of human capital.