DMCA
How the West ’Invented ’ Fertility Restriction ∗
Cached
Download Links
| Citations: | 6 - 0 self |
BibTeX
@MISC{Voigtländer_howthe,
author = {Nico Voigtländer and Hans-joachim Voth and Matthias Doepke and Raquel Fernández and Jesus Fern and Jeremy Greenwood and Nezih Guner and Dirk Krueger and Naomi Lamoreaux and Kiminori Matsuyama and Joel Mokyr and David Stromberg and Michèle Tertilt},
title = {How the West ’Invented ’ Fertility Restriction ∗},
year = {}
}
Share
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
OpenURL
Abstract
Europeans restricted their fertility long before other parts of the world did so. By raising the marriage age of women, and ensuring that a substantial proportion remained celibate, the "European Marriage Pattern" (EMP) reduced childbirths by up to 40%. We analyze the rise of this first socio-economic institution in history that limited fertility through delayed marriage. Our model emphasizes changes in agricultural production following the Black Death. The production of meat, wool, and dairy (pastoral products) increased, while grain production declined. Women had a comparative advantage producing pastoral goods. They often worked as servants in husbandry, where they remained unmarried long after they had left the parental household. In a Malthusian world, this translated into lower population pressure, raising average wages by up to a quarter. The Black Death thus set into motion a virtuous circle of higher wages and fertility decline that underpinned Europe’s high per capita incomes. We demonstrate the importance of this effect in a calibration of our model.
Keyphrases
west invented fertility restriction black death european marriage pattern comparative advantage delayed marriage pastoral product substantial proportion pastoral good grain production caput income fertility decline agricultural production parental household marriage age virtuous circle first socio-economic institution malthusian world population pressure average wage
