Key points from article :
Economists previously concluded that wealth itself increases longevity.
Data compiled from 174 countries, dating from 1970 to 2010.
Economic upturns didn’t always mean longer lives.
Gain in gross domestic product (GDP) caused increasingly higher gains in life expectancy over time.
Gains in literacy were associated with greater increases in life expectancy.
The study was published in the Population and Development Review journal.
