Uwe Sunde What Role Does Life Expectancy Play for the Economic Development of Countries?
Uwe Sunde is Professor of Population Economics at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich with research interests including long-term development and behavioral economics. Before joining the LMU, he has held the position of Director at the Swiss Institute for Empirical Economic Research and was Professor of macroeconomics at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 2015, he received the Gossen Prize which is awarded annually to a German-speaking economist whose strong research gained international recognition.
Area of Research
Long-Term Development and Growth, Political Economy, Labor Economics, Population Economics, Behavioral Economics
since 2012
Professor of Economics
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Department of Economics
2014-2015
Senior Researcher in Residence
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Center for Advanced Studies
2008-2012
Professor of Macroeconomics
University of St. Gallen (Universität St. Gallen)
Director of the Swiss Institute for Empirical Economic Research (SEW-HSG)
2003-2008
Research Associate
Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn
2003-2008
Postdoctoral Researcher
Bonn Graduate School of Economics
2001-2003
European Doctoral Program
University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
1999-2000
European Doctoral Program
Pompeu Fabra University (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
1998-1999
European Doctoral Program
University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
2008
Habilitation
University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
2003
PhD in Economics
University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
1998
Diploma in Economics
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
- American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
- American Economic Review
- Applied Economics Quarterly
- B.E. Journals
- Canadian Journal of Economics
- Demographic Research
- Demography
- Econometrica
- Economic Inquiry
- Economic Journal
- Economic Theory
- Economics Bulletin
- European Economic Review
- Games and Economic Behavior
- German Economic Review
- Health Economics
- International Economic Review
- Journal of Applied Econometrics
- Journal of Economic Growth
- Journal of Economics
- Journal of Economic Theory
- Journal of the European Economic Association
- Journal of Health Economics
- Journal of Labor Economics
- Journal of Money
- Credit and Banking
- Journal of Political Economy
- Journal of Population Economics
- Journal of Public Economics
- Journal of Public Economic Theory
- Journal of the Economics of Aging
- Labour
- Labour Economics
- Macroeconomic Dynamics
- Manchester School Mathematical Population Studies
- Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Research in Labor Economics
- Review of Economics and Statistics
- Review of Economic Dynamics
- Review of Economic Studies
- Scandinavian Journal of Economics
Prizes
- Gossen-Preis, German Economic Association (2015)
- Best Paper Award 2014 for “Life Expectancy, Schooling, and Lifetime Labor Supply: Theory and Evidence Revisited” (joint with Matteo Cervellati) for Category “Health Economics”, Fondazione Farmafactoring-AIES (2014)
- “Alumni-Preis für junge Volkswirte”, Prize for Best Diploma in Economics (1998)
Fellowships
- Member of the Survey Committee (Vice Chair), German Socio- Economic Panel (SOEP) (since 2015)
- Member of the Extended Board of the Verein für Sozialpolitik, Organizer of the Scientific Program of the Annual Conference 2016 (2015-2016)
- Member of the Council for Macroeconomics, Verein für Sozialpolitik (since 2011)
- Member of the Executive Board of the European Association of Labour Economists (EALE) (since 2010)
- Member of the Program Committee, Master's Programs in Economics, University of St.Gallen (2008-2012)
- Member of Program Committee the Annual Meeting of the European Society of Population Economics (2012, 2013, 2014)
- Member of Program Committee the Annual Meeting of the European Association of Labor Economists (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Member of Program Committee for Annual Meeting of the German Economic Association (Verein für Socialpolitik) (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014)
- Member of Program Committee for the European Economic Association Meetings (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
- Member of the Council for Population Economics, Verein für Sozialpolitik (since 2007)
- Member of Program Committee for Spring Meeting of Young Economists (2005)
- Member of Program Committee for the Econometric Society European Meetings (2004)
- Referee for German Science Foundation (DFG)
- Referee for Leibniz Gemeinschaft
- Referee for Swiss National Fund for Research (SNF)
- Referee for National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Referee for Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
- Referee for Agence Nationale de Recherche France (ANR)
- Referee for European Research Council (ERC)
The findings on the relation between economic development and life expectancy at birth have long been contradictory. In the theoretical model and data analysis presented in this video it is shown that prolongation of life expectancy is a turning point for economic development: As UWE SUNDE explains, the effect of life expectancy on income is negative before the transition to low birth and death rates, and positive afterwards. The findings show that investments in health are crucial to trigger the development of countries.
LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10162
The Economic and Demographic Transition, Mortality, and Comparative Development
- Matteo Cervellati and Uwe Sunde
- American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
- Published in 2015
Life Expectancy and Economic Growth: The Role of the Demographic Transition
- Matteo Cervellati and Uwe Sunde
- Journal of Economic Growth
- Published in 2011
