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【Macro Seminar】Technology adoption, mortality, and population dynamics


  • 研討會日期 : 2023-07-25
  • 時間 : 14:30
  • 主講人 : Dr. B. Ravikumar
  • 地點 : Conference Room B110
  • 演講者簡介 : Dr. B. Ravikumar received his PhD in Economics from The University of Iowa in 1989. He is currently Senior Vice President and Deputy Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. His research focuses on macroeconomics, international trade and economic development.
  • 演講摘要 : We develop a quantitative theory of mortality and population dynamics. We emphasize individuals' decisions to reduce their mortality by adopting better health technology. Adoption confers a dynamic externality: Adoption becomes cheaper as more individuals use better technology. Our model generates a diffusion curve, whose shape dictates the pace of mortality reduction. The model explains historical trends in mortality rates and life expectancies at various ages, and population dynamics in Western Europe. Unlike Malthusian theories based solely on income, ours is consistent with the observed disconnect between mortality and income. Unlike Beckerian theories based solely on fertility, ours accounts for the observed acceleration in population.