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Industrial revolution and mortality revolution: Two of a kind?

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Abstract

In little more than a century life expectancy has doubled in most parts of the world. Neither facts nor theory support the view that this Mortality Revolution is due to the Industrial Revolution and the era of rapid economic growth that ensued. Rather, both revolutions mark the onset of accelerated and sustained technological change in their respective areas. They occur largely independently of each other, the later occurrence of the Mortality Revolution being due to the later development of biomedical vis-a-vis physical knowledge. Comparative study of the two should prove fruitful. Although entrepreneurship is important in each, there appear to be differences in the underlying motivations and the role of private property and other institutions. Links between technological change, on the one hand, and scale of operation, capital inputs, and education, on the other, also offer promising possibilities for comparative study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Southern California, 90089-0253, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Richard A. Easterlin

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The author is grateful to Donna Hokoda Ebata and Christine M. Schaeffer for excellent assistance, the University of Southern California for financial support, and to Eileen M. Crimmins, Samuel H. Preston, Morton O. Schapiro, Roger S. Schofield, and two referees for helpful comments.

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Easterlin, R.A. Industrial revolution and mortality revolution: Two of a kind?. J Evol Econ 5, 393–408 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01194368

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