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The longevity of famous people from Hammurabi to Einstein

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  • DE LA CROIX, David

    (Université catholique de Louvain, CORE and IRES, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

  • LICANDRO, Omar

    (IAE-CSIC and Barcelona GSE)

Abstract

We built a unique dataset of 300,000 famous people born between Hammurabi's epoch and 1879, Einstein's birth year. It includes, among other variables, the vital dates, occupations, and locations of celebrities from the Index Bio-bibliographicus Notorum Hominum (IBN), a very comprehensive biographical tool. Our main contribution is fourfold. First, we show, using for the first time a worldwide, long-running, consistent database, that there was no trend in mortality rates during the Malthusian era. Second, after correcting for selection and composition biases, we date the beginning of the steady improvements in longevity to the cohort born in 1640-9, clearly preceding the Industrial Revolution. Third, we find that this timing of improvements in longevity concerns most countries in Europe, as well as all types of skilled occupations. Finally, the reasons for this early increase in mean lifetime are related to age-dependent shifts in the survival law.

Suggested Citation

  • DE LA CROIX, David & LICANDRO, Omar, 2012. "The longevity of famous people from Hammurabi to Einstein," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2012052, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvco:2012052
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Longevity increased much before the Industrial Revolution
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-12-05 20:36:00
    2. Monday miscellany
      by Brett in Brett Keller on 2012-12-10 12:48:34

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    3. Weil, David N., 2014. "Health and Economic Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 3, pages 623-682, Elsevier.
    4. David de la Croix & Frédéric Docquier & Alice Fabre & Robert Stelter, 2024. "The Academic Market and The Rise of Universities in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1000–1800)," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(4), pages 1541-1589.
    5. Sandra Brée & David de la Croix, 2019. "Key forces behind the decline of fertility: lessons from childlessness in Rouen before the industrial revolution," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(1), pages 25-54, January.
    6. David de la CROIX, 2014. "Economic Growth," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2014019, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Mara P. Squicciarini & Nico Voigtländer, 2015. "Human Capital and Industrialization: Evidence from the Age of Enlightenment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1825-1883.
    8. Chaney, Eric, 2020. "Modern Library Holdings and Historic City Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 14686, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Martin Hørlyk Kristensen & Marc T. Law, 2024. "Where are the Female Composers? Evidence on the Extent and Causes of Gender Inequality in Music History," Working Papers 0252, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    10. Alexander Donges & Jean-Marie Meier & Rui C. Silva, 2023. "The Impact of Institutions on Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 1951-1974, April.
    11. Robert Stelter & David De la Croix & Mikko Myrskylä, 2020. "Leaders and laggards in life expectancy among European scholars from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-030, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. David de la Croix & Matthias Doepke & Joel Mokyr, 2018. "Clans, Guilds, and Markets: Apprenticeship Institutions and Growth in the Preindustrial Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(1), pages 1-70.
    13. Chien, Fengsheng & Ananzeh, Mohammed & Mirza, Farhan & Bakar, Abou & Vu, Hieu Minh & Ngo, Thanh Quang, 2021. "The effects of green growth, environmental-related tax, and eco-innovation towards carbon neutrality target in the US economy," MPRA Paper 109664, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Cummins, Neil, 2017. "Lifespans of the European Elite, 800–1800," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(2), pages 406-439, June.
    15. Borowiecki, Karol Jan & Dahl, Christian Møller, 2021. "What makes an artist? The evolution and clustering of creative activity in the US since 1850," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    16. Lee, Wang-Sheng & Li, Ben G., 2021. "Extreme weather and mortality: Evidence from two millennia of Chinese elites," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    17. Thomas Baudin & David de la Croix & Paula E. Gobbi, 2019. "Childlessness and Economic Development: A Survey," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2019001, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    18. Michel Serafinelli & Guido Tabellini, 2022. "Creativity over time and space," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, March.
    19. Cinnirella, Francesco & Hornung, Eric & Koschnick, Julius, 2022. "Flow of Ideas : Economic Societies and the Rise of Useful Knowledge," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 632, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    20. Borowiecki, Karol Jan, 2019. "The Origins of Creativity: The Case of the Arts in the United States since 1850," Discussion Papers on Economics 11/2019, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics.
    21. van Besouw, Bram & Curtis, Daniel R., 2022. "Estimating warfare-related civilian mortality in the early modern period: Evidence from the Low Countries, 1620–99," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    22. Fabio Mariani & Agustin Perez Barahona & Natacha Raffin, 2019. "Population and the environment: the role of fertility, education and life expectancy," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2019008, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    23. Fabian Wahl, 2017. "Does European development have Roman roots? Evidence from the German Limes," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 313-349, September.
    24. Seth G. Benzell & Kevin Cooke, 2021. "A Network of Thrones: Kinship and Conflict in Europe, 1495–1918," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 102-133, July.
    25. Binzel, Christine & Link, Andreas & Ramachandran, Rajesh, 2021. "Language, Knowledge, and Growth: Evidence from Early Modern Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 15454, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    longevity; notoriety; Malthus; Gompertz-Makeham; compensation effect of mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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