This research theoretically analyzes the role of irreversible fertility decisions in economic growth in the presence of idiosyncratic ability shocks after childbirth. It argues that the irreversibility constraint delays the growth process by distorting the resource allocation between the...

This article demonstrates a theoretical possibility that aging economies driven by a scale effect of human capital sustain growth, away from a poverty trap. The hurdle to the prosperous path is raised by inequality in the fixed cost of child rearing