The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists

نویسندگان

  • Timothy W. Guinnane
  • Gary S. Becker
چکیده

P to the historical fertility transition, which took place in most of Europe and North America between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries, married women could expect eight or more births. Today many women do not have children at all. For centuries, the elasticity of fertility with respect to incomes was positive. Today it is zero or even negative. The fertility transition forms a major part of the process that brought the European, and later other, economies from slow to rapid and sustained growth. This article discusses the empirical literature on the historical fertility transition: what we know and what we still need to learn. Current interest in the broad area of demographic behavior and long-run growth reflects several intellectual influences, including Robert E. Lucas’s lectures on growth (Lucas 2002). Early efforts in this area usually The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists

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تاریخ انتشار 2010