| Abstract: |
For most of human history, until the fertility transition, technological
progress translated into larger populations, preventing sustained improvements
in living standards. We argue that migration offered an escape valve from
these Malthusian dynamics after the European discovery and colonization of the
Americas. We document a strong relationship between fertility and migration
across countries, regions, individuals, and periods, in a variety of datasets
and specifications, and with different identification strategies. During the
Age of Mass Migration, persistently high fertility across much of Europe
created a large reservoir of surplus labor that could find better
opportunities in the New World. These migrations, by relieving demographic
pressures, accelerated the transition to modern growth. |