| By: |
Samad Sarferaz (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland);
Alexander Rathke (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: |
In the process of economic development economies grow through various regimes,
each characterized by different demographic-economic interactions. The changes
in these interactions are key elements in different explanations of the escape
from Malthusian stagnation. We employ time-varying vector autoregressions, an
approach that allows tracking this transition for England in the period
between 1541 and 1870. The empirical findings suggest that the link between
real wages and population growth was at work until the 19th century.
Furthermore, we document changes in the propagation mechanism from real wages
on population growth over time that feature prominently in Unified Growth
Theory. Most remarkably, in contrast to earlier empirical literature we find
strong effects of income on mortality after the 1750s. |
| Keywords: |
Industrial Revolution, Malthusian Trap, Time-Varying, Vector Autoregression, Unified Growth Theory |
| JEL: |
C32 J13 N13 O11 |
| Date: |
2014–01 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:14-351&r=evo |