Modernity is a Children’s Paradise?

Economist Bryan Caplan provides a sort of counter-argument to my previous post. Contrary to our pseudo-nostalgia for the good ol’ days, children are physically better off now than they were in the 1950s :

In chapter 4 of my next book, I compare this “television reality” to actual reality.  Using standard official statistics, I’ve compiled U.S. youth mortality rates for 1950 versus 2005. I break the results down by disease, accidents, war, homicide, and suicide.  Here are my initial results:

Overall, today is much safer than 1950.  That’s probably no surprise to anyone who knows basic economic history.  What’s particularly interesting is that safety gains are especially large for younger kids.  The mortality rate for kids under 5 was almost five times greater in 1950, 3.7 times greater for kids 5-14, and 2.2 times greater for 15-24 year olds.

While it no doubt stifles their imaginations, I suppose there is one advantage to not letting kids roam wild: they tend to stay alive longer.

(Via: Stuart Buck )