A bioeconomic view of the transition to agriculture: a comment |
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Authors: | Robert Rowthorn |
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Affiliation: | Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge |
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Abstract: | Abstract Arthur Robson (2010) presents an ingenious model to explain why the standard of living apparently fell during the Neolithic transition from hunter‐gathering to agriculture. His demonstration relies on a production function that has a strong property with regard to technical change. This note shows how Robson’s result can be obtained using a more familiar set of restrictions on technical change. Under these restrictions, an improvement in technology will cause parents to invest less per child and the standard of living will fall. |
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Keywords: | N30 N50 O33 O40 Q10 |
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