American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Dynamics and Stagnation in the Malthusian Epoch
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 5, August 2011
(pp. 2003–41)
Abstract
This paper examines the central hypothesis of the influential Malthusian theory, according to which improvements in the technological environment during the preindustrial era had generated only temporary gains in income per capita, eventually leading to a larger, but not significantly richer, population. Exploiting exogenous sources of cross-country variations in land productivity and the level of technological advancement, the analysis demonstrates that, in accordance with the theory, technological superiority and higher land productivity had significant positive effects on population density but insignificant effects on the standard of living, during the time period 1-1500 CE. (JEL N10, N30, N50, O10, O40, O50)Citation
Ashraf, Quamrul, and Oded Galor. 2011. "Dynamics and Stagnation in the Malthusian Epoch." American Economic Review 101 (5): 2003–41. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.5.2003Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- N10 Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations: General, International, or Comparative
- N30 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: General, International, or Comparative
- N50 Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: General, International, or Comparative
- O10 Economic Development: General
- O40 Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General
- O50 Economywide Country Studies: General