This paper proposes the hypothesis that genetic distance to the health frontier influences population health outcomes. Evidence from a world sample suggests that genetic distance, interpreted as long-term cultural and biological divergence, is an important factor in understanding health...

This research documents that the growth rate of life expectancy over the 20th century decreased the growth rate of per capita GDP and the growth rate of population. Exploiting exogenous variation in life expectancy from mid-20th century medical advances (e.g., antibiotics), the analysis...