Life and Growth

No 17094, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Some technologies save lives -- new vaccines, new surgical techniques, safer highways. Others threaten lives -- pollution, nuclear accidents, global warming, the rapid global transmission of disease, and bioengineered viruses. How is growth theory altered when technologies involve life and death instead of just higher consumption? This paper shows that taking life into account has first-order consequences. Under standard preferences, the value of life may rise faster than consumption, leading society to value safety over consumption growth. As a result, the optimal rate of consumption growth may be substantially lower than what is feasible, in some cases falling all the way to zero.

JEL-codes: E0 I10 O3 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-hea and nep-mac
Note: EFG EH PR
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published as Charles I. Jones, 2016. "Life and Growth," Journal of Political Economy, vol 124(2), pages 539-578.

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Journal Article: Life and Growth (2016)
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