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Wealth, health and the cycle of progress 33and Kraay (Dollar & Kraay, 2000) also find that economic growthfavors rich and poor equally, confirming analyses by Ravallion andChen (Ravallion & Chen, 1997) and Easterly and Rebelo (Easterly &Rebelo, 1993). Similarly, increased protection of property rights andfiscal discipline (defined as low government consumption) raiseoverall incomes without increasing inequality. 112Thus, each link in the cycle – higher yields, increased foodsupplies, lower mortalities and higher life expectancies – isstrengthened by the general forces of economic growth, technologicalchange and trade. Qualitatively, at least, this explains why allthe figures for cereal yields (Figure 12), food supplies per capita(Figure 2), safe water (Figure 3), life expectancy (Figure 4) and postsecondaryeducation (Figure 8) when plotted against per capitaincome look similar, and all look like mirror images of Figure 6 forinfant mortality rates.However, the experience of Sub-Saharan Africa warns us that acycle that moves forward can also go into reverse if a deterioratingpublic health and a declining economy undermine each other.ConclusionSince 1800, global population has increased over six-fold (FAO, 2003;McEvedy & Jones, 1978). Manufacturing industries have increasedover seventy-five times in value (Bairoch, 1982) and carbon dioxideemissions from fossil fuel combustion has increased 600 times(Marland et al., 2005). Overall, global economic product has multipliedmore than sixty-fold. 22 Despite the environmental disruptionwhich might have been caused by all this activity, the state ofhumanity has never been better. Specifically:◆In the last two centuries, the average person’s life expectancyat birth has doubled, infant mortality is less than a third ofwhat it used to be, and real income has grown sevenfold. Foodis more affordable. A child is less likely to go to bed hungry anda woman is far less likely to die in child birth.