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This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau of Economic Research Volume Title: Health and Welfare during Industrialization Volume Author/Editor: Richard H. Steckel and Roderick Floud, Eds. Volume Publisher: University of Chicago Press Volume ISBN: 0-226-77156-3 Volume URL: /books/stec97-1 Publication Date: January 1997 Chapter Title: Long-Term Trends in Health, Welfare, and Economic Growth in the United States Chapter Author: Dora Costa, Richard H. Steckel Chapter URL: /chapters/c7428 Chapter pages in book: (p. 47 - 90) 2 Long-TermTrendsinHealth, Welfare, and Economic Growth in the United States Dora L. Costa and Richard H. Steckel 2.1 Introduction Economists and historians have long been intrigued by the connection be- tween health and economic growth. Because health is an input to economic growth, long-run increases in living standards may be sped by the improving health of a population. People inbetter health are abletoincrease their produc- tivity and output.At the sametime, economic growth enables people to pur- chase the nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and medical care that are sonecessary to health. Economic growth isnot alwaysbenign, however. Industrialization was gen- erally associated with increased urbanization, crowded factories and tene- ments, and the pacing of workers by machines. Economic growth mightthere- fore lead to a deterioration in health. Examining the interrelationship between industrializationandhealthwillhelpusunderstand how adverse effects associ- ated with economic growth canbe mitigated. Establishing the secular trend inhealth and understanding its causes is also important for understanding the present. Thepast is stillwith us both because older generations are still withus and because physiological processes have an intergenerational reach. The oldest generation alive today was b