The Neolithic Revolution from a Price-Theoretic Perspective
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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.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 15 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
- Faculty of Social Sciences - Neolithic revolution, hunter-gatherers, child labor, Thomas Malthus
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ID: 17214772