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The US Demographic Transition

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Author Info
Jeremy Greenwood () (University of Rochester)
Ananth Seshadri (University of Wisconsin)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Between 1800 and 1940 the U.S. went through a dramatic demographic transition. In 1800 the average woman had 7 children, and 94 percent of the population lived in rural areas. By 1940 the average woman birthed just 2 kids, and only 43 percent of populace lived in the country. The question is: What accounted for this shift in the demographic landscape? The answer given here is that technological progress in agriculture and manufacturing explains these facts.

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File URL: http://rcer.econ.rochester.edu/RCERPAPERS/rcer_487.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER) in its series RCER Working Papers with number 487.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length: 18 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2002
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:roc:rocher:487

Contact details of provider:
Postal: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, HARKNESS 231 ROCHESTER NEW YORK 14627 U.S.A.

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Related research
Keywords: fertility technological progress agriculture manufacturing

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models
J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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. Gary S. Becker & Robert J. Barro, 1988. "A Reformulation of the Economic Theory of Fertility," NBER Working Papers 1793, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Laitner, John, 2000. "Structural Change and Economic Growth," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 67(3), pages 545-61, July.
  3. Oded Galor & David N. Weil, 2000. "Population, Technology, and Growth: From Malthusian Stagnation to the Demographic Transition and Beyond," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 806-828, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Echevarria, Cristina, 1997. "Changes in Sectoral Composition Associated with Economic Growth," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 38(2), pages 431-52, May.
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Cited by:
(explanations, 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. Matthias Doepke, . "Growth Takeoffs," UCLA Economics Online Papers 409, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Elizabeth M. Caucutt & Thomas F. Cooley & Nezih Guner, 2007. "The Farm, the City, and the Emergence of Social Security," NBER Working Papers 12854, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Peter Rangazas & Alex Mourmouras, 2007. "Wage Gaps and Development: Lessons from U.S. History," IMF Working Papers 07/105, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  4. Matthew J. Baker & Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2005. "Marriage, Specialization, and the Gender Division of Labor," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2005-001, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2004. "The American Frontier : A Hundred Years of Western Settlement," Economie d'Avant Garde Research Reports 7, Economie d'Avant Garde. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Holger Strulik, 2002. "Child Mortality, Child Labour, and Economic Development," Quantitative Macroeconomics Working Papers 20205, Hamburg University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Arthur J. Robson, 2007. "A "Bioeconomic" View of the Neolithic and Recent Demographic Transitions," Discussion Papers dp07-02, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University. [Downloadable!]
  8. Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2008. "The American Frontier: Technology versus Immigration," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(2), pages 283-301, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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