Why does the rate of population growth decline in the face of economic growth? This study shows that growing product variety, along with more expensive children, induce a permanent reduction in the demand for children, and a continuous rise in income and consumption.

The adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic period triggered the first demographic explosion in history. When fertility returned to its original level, agriculturalists were more numerous, more poorly nourished, and worked longer hours than their hunter-gatherer ancestors. We develop a...

Why does the rate of population growth decline in the face of economic growth? We show that growing product variety may induce a permanent reduction in the demand for children and a continuous rise in income and consumption.