Arbeitspapier

Testing unified growth theory: Technological progress and the child quantity-quality tradeoff

A core mechanism of unified growth theory is that accelerating technologicalprogress induces mass education and, in interaction with child quantity-quality substitution, a decline in fertility. Using unique new data for 21 OECD countries over theperiod 1750-2000, we test, for the first time, the validity of this core mechanism of unified growth theory. We measure a country's technological progress as patents per capita, genetic-distance weighted foreign patents, and investment in machinery, equipment and intellectual property products. Controlling for other confounders like income, mortality, thegender wage gap, indicators for child labor, compulsory schooling, and time- and country-fixed effects, we establish a strong positive impact of technological progress on investmentsin education and a strongly negative one on fertility. Using two-stage regressions, we assess the child quantity-quality substitution that can be motivated by technological change. We estimate that a 10 percent increase of enrollment in primary and secondary school isassociated with a decline of the general fertility rate by 3 to 4 percent.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: cege Discussion Papers ; No. 393

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General
Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General
Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: General, International, or Comparative
Demographic Economics: General
Education and Economic Development
Thema
technological progress
fertility
education
quantity-quality trade-off
unifiedgrowth theory

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Madsen, Jakob Brøchner
Strulik, Holger
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege)
(wo)
Göttingen
(wann)
2020

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
20.09.2024, 08:23 MESZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Madsen, Jakob Brøchner
  • Strulik, Holger
  • University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege)

Entstanden

  • 2020

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