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Economic Growth And Evolution: Parental Preference For Quality And Quantity Of Offspring

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  • Collins, Jason
  • Baer, Boris
  • Weber, Ernst Juerg

Abstract

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the model developed by Galor and Moav [Galor, Oded and Omer Moav (2002) Natural selection and the origin of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 117(4), 1133–1191] in which agents vary genetically in their preference for quality and quantity of children. The simulation produces a pattern of income and population growth that resembles the period of Malthusian stagnation before the Industrial Revolution and the take-off into a modern growth era. We also investigate the stability of the modern growth era as an absorbing state of the model under the introduction of a strongly quantity-preferring genotype. We show that, given the absence of a scale effect of population in the model, the economy can regress to a Malthusian state under this change in the initial distribution of genotypes.

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  • Collins, Jason & Baer, Boris & Weber, Ernst Juerg, 2014. "Economic Growth And Evolution: Parental Preference For Quality And Quantity Of Offspring," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(8), pages 1773-1796, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:macdyn:v:18:y:2014:i:08:p:1773-1796_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2014. "The Biocultural Origins of Human Capital Formation," Working Papers 2014-6, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    2. Boris Gershman, 2016. "Long-Run Development and the New Cultural Economics," Working Papers 2016-06, American University, Department of Economics.
    3. Galor, Oded & Klemp, Marc, 2013. "Be Fruitful and Multiply? Moderate Fecundity and Long-Run Reproductive Success," MPRA Paper 52049, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Marc Klemp & Jacob Weisdorf, 2019. "Fecundity, Fertility and The Formation of Human Capital," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(618), pages 925-960.
    5. Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor, 2018. "The Macrogenoeconomics of Comparative Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 1119-1155, September.
    6. Jason Collins & Boris Baer & Ernst Juerg Weber, 2016. "Evolutionary Biology in Economics: A Review," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 92(297), pages 291-312, June.
    7. Klemp, Marc & Ashraf, Quamrul & Galor, Oded, 2020. "The Ancient Origins of the Wealth of Nations," CEPR Discussion Papers 15345, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Jason Collins & Boris Baer & Ernst Juerg Weber, 2013. "Population, Technological Progress and the Evolution of Innovative Potential," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 13-21, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.

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