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The Neolithic Revolution from a price-theoretic perspective

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Author Info
Guzmán, Ricardo Andrés
Weisdorf, Jacob

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Abstract

The adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic triggered the first demographic explosion in history. When fertility returned to its original level, early farmers found themselves more poorly nourished than hunter-gatherers and working longer hours to make ends meet. We develop a dynamic, price-theoretic model that rationalizes these events: in the short-run, fertility and utility increase; in the long-run, consumption, leisure, and utility fall below their initial levels. This, we argue, can be attributed to the rise in child labor productivity that followed the adoption of agriculture. Counter-intuitively, an increase in the productivity of children may lead to a permanent reduction in utility.

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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 10069.

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Date of creation: 23 Apr 2009
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:10069

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Related research
Keywords: Neolithic Revolution; hunter-gatherers; child labor; Thomas Malthus.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Income, and Wealth - - - General, International, or Comparative
J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Jacob L. Weisdorf, 2003. "Stone Age Economics: The Origins of Agriculture and the Emergence of Non-Food Specialists," Discussion Papers 03-34, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Nicolas Marceau & Gordon Myers, 2005. "On the Early Holocene: Foraging to Early Agriculture," Cahiers de recherche 0502, CIRPEE. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jacob L. Weisdorf, 2005. "From Foraging To Farming: Explaining The Neolithic Revolution," Journal of Economic Surveys, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 19(4), pages 561-586, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Razin, Assaf & Ben-Zion, Uri, 1975. "An Intergenerational Model of Population Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(5), pages 923-33, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Eckstein, Zvi & Stern, Steven & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1988. "Fertility Choice, Land, and the Malthusian Hypothesis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 29(2), pages 353-61, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Michele Boldrin & Larry E. Jones, 2002. "Mortality, Fertility, and Saving in a Malthusian Economy," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 5(4), pages 775-814, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Nerlove, Marc & Razin, Assaf & Sadka, Efraim, 1986. "Endogenous Population with Public Goods and Malthusian Fixed Resources: Efficiency or Market Failure," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 27(3), pages 601-09, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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