TY - UNPB

T1 - The Neolithic Revolution from a Price-Theoretic Perspective

AU - Guzmán, Ricardo Andrés

AU - Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - The adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic period triggered the first demographic explosion in history. When fertility returned to its original level, agriculturalists were more numerous, more poorly nourished, and worked longer hours than their hunter-gatherer ancestors. We develop a dynamic price-theoretic model that rationalizes these events. In the short run, people are lured into agriculture by the increased labor productivity of both adults and children. In the long run, the growth in population overrides the productivity gains, and the later generations of agriculturalists end up being worse off than the hunter-gatherers. Counter-intuitively, the increase in the labor productivity of children causes the long-run reduction in welfare. In the long run, the increase in adult labor productivity only contributes to population growth.

AB - The adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic period triggered the first demographic explosion in history. When fertility returned to its original level, agriculturalists were more numerous, more poorly nourished, and worked longer hours than their hunter-gatherer ancestors. We develop a dynamic price-theoretic model that rationalizes these events. In the short run, people are lured into agriculture by the increased labor productivity of both adults and children. In the long run, the growth in population overrides the productivity gains, and the later generations of agriculturalists end up being worse off than the hunter-gatherers. Counter-intuitively, the increase in the labor productivity of children causes the long-run reduction in welfare. In the long run, the increase in adult labor productivity only contributes to population growth.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - børnearbejde

KW - Neolithic revolution

KW - hunter-gatherers

KW - child labour

KW - child labor

KW - Thomas Malthus

M3 - Working paper

BT - The Neolithic Revolution from a Price-Theoretic Perspective

PB - Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen

ER -