Three profound changes -- the mortality, fertility and contraception transitions -- characterized the Victorian era in England. Economists, following Becker (1960), focus on the first two and underplay the third by assuming couples can achieve their fertility target at no cost. The historical...

A cornerstone of demographic transition theory is that declines in infant and child mortality plausibly explain the onset of fertility decline in most countries. Simple versions of the Barro-Becker model of fertility choice have trouble delivering this link. We propose an extension, the...

Numerous researchers have incorporated labor or credit market frictions within simple neoclassical models to (i) facilitate quick departures from the Arrow-Debreu world, thereby opening up the role for institutions, (ii) inject some realism into their models, and (iii) explain cross country...