Seminar: Jacob B. Madsen, Monash University, Australia.

Barriers to Prosperity: Parasite Diseases, IQ and Economic Development

Abstract. Medical research shows that chronic parasitic and infectious diseases (PIDs) and malnutrition among young children can permanently impair their cognitive skills and that a large proportion of children in the tropics suffering from PIDs infected by parasitic diseases during most of their childhood. This paper suggests that the marked cross-country variations in cognitive abilities can, to a large extent, be explained by the burden of parasitical diseases among young children. Furthermore, it is argued that cognitive ability, through the channel of PIDs, is a powerful predictor of the level and growth in per capita income and TFP. Using data for 115 countries and strictly exogenously instruments regressions reveal that PIDs go a long way in explaining growth and income inequalities across the world.