A genuine understanding of the economic growth process should take into account the extent to which fertility and mortality affect the population growth rate as an endogenous variable. To this end we construct a growth model using an infinite horizon setup in which economic development and health status influence the population growth rate. Mortality depends on health expenditure, and fertility is endogenously determined. Adults within each household take into account the welfare and resources of their current and future descendants. Their decisions determine not only the evolution of the population growth rate but also the evolution of the per capita income.
fertility; mortality; growth; health expenditure
