Key forces behind the decline of fertility: lessons from childlessness in Rouen before the industrial revolution

Brée, Sandra; Croix, David de la

doi:10.1007/s11698-017-0166-9

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 66 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…French counties that have succeeded best at closing their gender gap have displayed better economic performance and exhibited lower fertility rates. This association is consistent with the literature stating that empowering women affected fertility in various ways [see Caldwell (1981), and Brée and de la Croix (2019) for an empirical investigation of the French town of Rouen in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries] and is beneficial to economic growth [see Kabeer and Natali (2013), Cuberes and Teignier (2014), and Klasen and Santos Silva (2018), for exhaustive reviews of the literature], and confirms the theory developed by Diebolt and Perrin (2013, 2019) according to which female empowerment in the direction of greater equality underlies the demographic transition and triggers sustained economic growth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Can the historical gender gap index deepen our understanding of economic development?

Perrin

2021

J. Dem. Econ.

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Knowledge of the long relationship between gender equality and economic growth is hampered by the lack of information and resources on the various dimensions of gender equality. This paper is a first attempt to assess the size of the gender gap and investigate its relationship with economic growth from a historical perspective. Exploiting a unique census-based dataset of 86 French counties in the mid-nineteenth century, I construct a historical gender gap index measuring the size of the gap between men and women in three critical areas: economic opportunities, educational attainment, and health. A county comparison allows me to identify the strengths and weaknesses of French counties in closing the gender gap. I find that France can be divided into two main areas, the North and the South. In particular, the Northern counties that have done most to narrow the gap display better economic performance. Boys' and girls' education and family structures appear to be crucial determinants of gender equality. Gender equality is positively and significantly associated with economic performance. Accounting for the multi-dimensions of gender equality is crucial for economic development.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Can the historical gender gap index deepen our understanding of economic development?

Perrin

2021

J. Dem. Econ.

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“…For instance, in Nigeria (2008 census) the mean FAM is 17.7 years (and 16 years in the North) with 27% married before age 15 (Adebowale et al, 2012). Such a difference with what we observe in MV is not due to economic development, because the current GDP per capita in Nigeria is higher than it was in 32 Others, such as Bardet (1983), see also Brée and de la Croix (2019), did not observe any variation over time. 33 An average age of 25 is observed in a hundred western European communities (Flinn, 1981).…”

Section: Descriptive Statistics Of Marriage Patternscontrasting

confidence: 69%

The European Marriage Pattern and its Positive Consequences Montesquieu-Volvestre, 1660-1789

Bris

Tallec

2018

SSRN Journal

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For a French village, we reconstitute most families and build accurate measurements of economic conditions. Combined with marriage contracts (systematic in this writtenlaw area), we are able to control for wealth, Stem households and social status of father and husband for a representative sample. We clarify the operation of the EMP system: bad economic conditions resulted in later female age at marriage, which had positive consequences, such as fewer children, adjusting the population level, and a smaller age difference between spouses, allowing greater agency for women within the couple. A supposed positive effect on human capital is not significant.

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“…These structures can then be easily scaled up to become more effective institutions. These ecological conditions and associated egalitarian community structures increased reproductive rights of women due lower child mortality and increased opportunities for women (Brée & de la Croix, 2019). In other words, ecological conditions associated with unrestricted access to water and ease of navigation facilitate the emergence of autonomous and agentic values (Welzel, 2014), suggesting higher openness to change and self-transcendence values in regions characterized by cool water (CW) conditions.…”

Section: Demand Versus Resource Models Of Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origins of Values Differences: A Two-Level Analysis of Economic, Climatic and Parasite Stress Explanations in the Value Domain

Fischer

2021

Cross-Cultural Research

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What variables are associated with cross-cultural differences in values at the individual level? In this study, the statistical effect of variables associated with ecological demands and available economic and cognitive resources on self-reported values are investigated in two independent samples to test the replicability of effects. Values are operationalized using a 10-item version inspired by Schwartz’ value theory. The effects of national wealth, climatic demands, availability of cool water, and parasite stress at the national level are used to predict value scores of individuals within nations using nationally representative data from all inhabited continents ( k = 49 and k = 58; Ns = 64,491 and 81,991). Using mixed-effect models, new insights into individual- and nation-level dynamics in value scores are provided. First, the paper extends previous cultural theories to the individual level by investigating the effects of education and personal income as individual-level resources. Both personal income and education have strong direct effects on value scores. Second, higher education acts as a cognitive resource which turns climatic demands into challenges, effectively unpackaging nation-level theorizing with individual level dynamics. Third, contrary to previous nation-level research, parasite stress was not a significant predictor of individual-level values. Forth, supporting recent theorizing, individuals located in cool water regions reported significantly higher self-transcendence values. Fifth, the effects of wealth on openness values were convergent and reinforcing across levels (higher wealth is associated with more openness values), but operated in opposing directions for self-transcendence values (national wealth is associated with self-transcendent values, individual wealth is associated with self-enhancing values). The current patterns suggest that cultural research needs to pay more attention to individual versus nation-level dynamics and increase replication efforts with independent samples.

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Key forces behind the decline of fertility: lessons from childlessness in Rouen before the industrial revolution

Abstract: International audienc

Cited by 16 publications

References 66 publications

Can the historical gender gap index deepen our understanding of economic development?

Can the historical gender gap index deepen our understanding of economic development?

The European Marriage Pattern and its Positive Consequences Montesquieu-Volvestre, 1660-1789

Origins of Values Differences: A Two-Level Analysis of Economic, Climatic and Parasite Stress Explanations in the Value Domain

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