American Economic Review Vol. 101 No. 3 2011

Fertility and the Plough

Alberto Alesina¹; Paola Giuliano²; Nathan Nunn¹

¹ Department of Economics, Harvard University, 1805 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. · ² Anderson School of Management, UCLA, 110 Westwood Plaza, Entrepreneurs Hall C517, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

Abstract

The current study finds that societies which historically engaged in plough agriculture today have lower fertility. We argue, and provide ethnographic evidence, that the finding is explained by the fact that with plough agriculture, children, like women, are relatively less useful in the field. The plough requires strength and eliminates the need for weeding, a task particularly suitable for women and children. This in turn generates a preference for fewer children, lowering fertility.

DOI

10.1257/aer.101.3.499

Volume

101

Issue

3

Pages

499-503

Language

en

Sources

bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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