We advance the hypothesis that cultural values such as high work ethic and thrift, “the Protestant ethic” according to MaxWeber, may have been diffused long before the Reformation, thereby importantly affecting the pre-industrial growth record. The source of pre-Reformation Protestant ethic,...

This paper explores the long-term impact on mortality of exposure to early-life hardship. Using survival analysis, we document that birth during the great English famine of the late 1720s manifest itself in an increased death risk throughout life among those who survive the famine years. Using...

We study the interactions between technological change, resource scarcity and population dynamics in a Schumpeterian model with endogenous fertility. There exists a pseudo- Malthusian equilibrium in which population is constant and income grows exponentially: the equilibrium population level is...

We present a simple model in which the transition from Malthusian stagnation to modern growth can occur. Agents are endowed with full control over their fertility but, differently from other studies, the degree of agents' altruism which mainly affects fertility choices are allowed to change with...