Diseases,infectiondynamics,anddevelopment

The relationshipbetweenhealthanddevelopmentisasubjectofongoingdebate.This paper contributestothedebatebyproposingageneralequilibriumtheoryofinfectious diseasetransmission,preventioninvestment,andrationalbehavior.Diseasescause prematuredeath,laborproductivitylossandlowerqualityoflife.Higherdisease prevalencelowerstheaveragesaving-investmentpropensity.Themodelofferstwo insights.First,infectiousdiseasecanplausiblygenerateanunconventionalgrowthtrap whereincomealonecannotpushaneconomyoutofunderdevelopment.Second,even when countriesconvergetothesamebalancedgrowthpath,thediseaseecology significantlyimpairsthepaceofeconomicdevelopment.