Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development

Cervellati, Matteo; Sunde, Uwe

doi:10.1257/000282805775014380

Cited by 357 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Such research examines the relative risk of mortality or high levels of stress for either children (14) or adults (15,16) as a primary factor in fertility decisions. More recently, Unified Growth Theory suggests that increases in adult life span and child survival rates allow greater payoffs to investments in self and individual children (17,18).…”

Section: Demographic Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A model comparison approach shows stronger support for economic models of fertility decline

Shenk

Towner

Kress

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

118

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The demographic transition is an ongoing global phenomenon in which high fertility and mortality rates are replaced by low fertility and mortality. Despite intense interest in the causes of the transition, especially with respect to decreasing fertility rates, the underlying mechanisms motivating it are still subject to much debate. The literature is crowded with competing theories, including causal models that emphasize (i) mortality and extrinsic risk, (ii) the economic costs and benefits of investing in self and children, and (iii) the cultural transmission of low-fertility social norms. Distinguishing between models, however, requires more comprehensive, bettercontrolled studies than have been published to date. We use detailed demographic data from recent fieldwork to determine which models produce the most robust explanation of the rapid, recent demographic transition in rural Bangladesh. To rigorously compare models, we use an evidence-based statistical approach using model selection techniques derived from likelihood theory. This approach allows us to quantify the relative evidence the data give to alternative models, even when model predictions are not mutually exclusive. Results indicate that fertility, measured as either total fertility or surviving children, is best explained by models emphasizing economic factors and related motivations for parental investment. Our results also suggest important synergies between models, implicating multiple causal pathways in the rapidity and degree of recent demographic transitions.

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Section: Demographic Transition Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A model comparison approach shows stronger support for economic models of fertility decline

Shenk

Towner

Kress

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

118

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“…Let us suppose that this time cost is distributed uniformly within the population on the range [0, 1]. As in Cervellati & Sunde (2005), this parameter z may be interpreted as innate abilities in terms of learning capacities. However, in our model, individual abilities affect the cost of education rather than its return.…”

Section: Individual Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education and the Political Economy of Environmental Protection

Raffin¹

2014

Annals of Economics and Statistics

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We develop a model where agents decide wether to invest in additional education according to their expectations regarding future environmental quality. Then, agents vote on a tax that will be used exclusively to finance environmental protection. Under the assumption of rational and constant expectations, the model may generate multiple equilibria. Moreover, we show that agents'expectations regarding future environmental quality may be self-fulfilling when the public policy is endogenous. This paves the way for a public intervention. Hence, we analyse the long-run dynamic implications of a policy in favour of education, in order to select the higher equilibrium.JEL classification: .

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“…Once that latent forces like technological progress or increasing life expectancy raise the returns to education to a sufficient extent, investments in education start to increase, fertility starts to fall, and incomes start to grow (cf. Galor and Weil, 2000;Galor, 2011;Cervellati and Sunde, 2005). 3 Here, we investigate whether and how the onset and the speed of the take-off to sustained economic growth depends on the interplay between gender-specific preferences and the bargaining power of women within the household.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender equity and the escape from poverty

Prettner¹,

Strulik²

2016

Oxf. Econ. Pap.

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract. We set up a unified growth model with gender-specific differences in tastes for consumption, fertility, education of daughters and sons, and consider the intra-household bargaining power of spouses. In line with the empirical regularity for less developed countries, we assume that mothers desire to have no more children than fathers and to invest no less in education per child. We then show that female empowerment has the potential to promote the transition from a state of high fertility, low education, and sluggish economic growth towards a state of low fertility, high education, and fast economic growth if the child quantity-quality preferences of spouses differ substantially. In this case targeted policies to empower women have the potential to constitute a successful development strategy. We demonstrate the robustness of this finding with respect to endogenously evolving bargaining power and division of child-rearing time within the household. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor mayJEL classification: J13, J16, O11, O41.

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Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development

Cited by 357 publications

References 47 publications

A model comparison approach shows stronger support for economic models of fertility decline

A model comparison approach shows stronger support for economic models of fertility decline

Education and the Political Economy of Environmental Protection

Gender equity and the escape from poverty

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