Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/263382 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15166
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This research explores the persistent effect of the Neolithic Revolution on the evolution of life expectancy in the course of human history. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that the onset of the Neolithic Revolution and the associated rise in infectious diseases triggered a process of adaptation reducing mortality from infectious diseases while increasing the propensity for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Exploiting an exogenous source of variation in the timing of the Neolithic Revolution across French regions, the analysis establishes the presence of these conflicting forces - the beneficial effects on life expectancy before the second epidemiological transition and their adverse effects thereafter.
Subjects: 
life expectancy
health
mortality
Neolithic Revolution
epidemiological transition
infectious disease
autoimmune disease
diabetes
Crohn’s disease
HIV
COVID-19
JEL: 
I10
I15
J10
N00
N30
O10
O33
Z10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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