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Family Characteristics and Economic Development

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  • Le Bris, David

Abstract

This paper links economic development to age-old family characteristics through the propensity to invest and thus increase human productivity. Inequality among siblings favors investment in physical capital, while a high status of women and strong parental authority favor investment in human capital. To test this theory, a family score is built according to the presence of these three characteristics in the traditional family type of each country. This family score as well as basic family characteristics are significantly associated with better economic outcomes (GDP per capita as well as proxies for investment in human and physical capital). These relationships are robust to other factors already identified as playing a role, such as geography, ethnic fractionalization, genetic diversity, religion, and formal institutions. Reverse causality is rejected by both historical anthropology and an instrumental investigation.

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  • Le Bris, David, 2020. "Family Characteristics and Economic Development," MPRA Paper 105325, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:105325
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/105325/1/MPRA_paper_105325.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Youssouf Merouani & Faustine Perrin, 2022. "Gender and the long-run development process. A survey of the literature [Rethinking age heaping: A cautionary tale from nineteenth-century Italy]," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 26(4), pages 612-641.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic development; Family model; Cultural Economics; Reversal of fortune;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N50 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O50 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - General
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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