Stone Age Economics: The Origins of Agriculture and the Emergence of Non-Food Specialists.

This paper examines the prehistoric shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Among hunters and gatherers, all community members were engaged in food provision. Agricultural societies, in contrast, avail themselves of non-food specialists. This paper argues that the adoption of agriculture necessitated the introduction of non-food specialists. Since the release of labour from food generating activities stimulates economic development, this implies that the shift to agriculture literally bore the seeds of later economic growth. The model shows, in accordance with archaeological evidence, that hunters and gatherers, faced with redistribution costs arising from division of labour, delay the adoption of agricultural techniques for a period of time, after which a large step forward in food procurement technology–a ’Neolithic revolution’–is associated with the shift to farming.hunting-gathering; leisure time; neolithic revolution; nonfood specialists, transition

From Foraging to Farming: Explaining the Neolithic Revolution

This paper reviews the main theories and evidence regarding the prehistoric shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture, an event which took place for the first time some 10,000 years ago. The transition, which is also known as the Neolithic Revolution, led to the rise of civilisation as we know it, and seems to have borne the seeds for the later process of industrialisation and for economic growth in general. The paper provides a brief historical survey of the leading hypotheses concerning the rise of agriculture proposed in the archaeological and anthropological literature. It then turns to a more detailed review of the theories proposed in the economic literature.agriculture; hunting-gathering; neolithic revolution; transition

Malthus Revisited: Fertility Decision Making based on Quasi-Linear Preferences

Malthus’ (1798) population hypothesis is inconsistent with the demographic transition and the concurrent massive expansion of incomes observed among industrialised countries. This study shows that eliminating the income-effect on the demand for children from the Malthusian model makes it harmonise well with industrial development.demographic transition; fertility; Malthus

Made for Toil: Natural selection at the dawn of agriculture

The labour input among pre-historic foragers was normally rewarded within the same day of the effort. For the first farmers, by contrast, labour input and its rewards could be far apart. However, the patience was worthwhile: population growth rates among early agriculturalists were up to 60 times higher than those of their foraging counterparts. It is well-known from the biological science that humans differ with respect to metabolism. This study argues that rates of metabolism well-suited for the many hours of labour input required for farming gained an evolutionary advantage with the advent of agriculture. This theory helps shedding light on the puzzles why farming was adopted despite its high labour costs, and why people of agricultural societies work more than their foraging counterparts.hunting ; labour input ; Malthus ; metabolism ; neolithic revolution ; patience capital

A Malthusian model for all seasons?

An issue often discussed in relation to agricultural development is the effect on agricultural labour productivity of more intensive land-use. Introducing aspects of seasonality into a stylized Malthusian model, we unify two diverging views by showing that labour productivity may go up or down with agricultural intensification, depending on whether technological progress emerges in relation to cultivation or harvesting activities. Our result rests on evidence reported by Boserup (1965) and others, which suggests that harvest seasons in traditional agriculture are characterized by severe labour shortage.agricultural intensification ; Boserup ; labour surplus ; Malthus ; seasonality

A malthusian model for all seasons

An issue often discussed in relation to agricultural development is the effect on agricultural labour productivity of more intensive land-use. Introducing aspects of seasonality into a stylized Malthusian model, we unify two diverging views by showing that labour productivity may go up or down with agricultural intensification, depending on whether technological progress emerges in relation to cultivation or harvesting activities. Our result rests on evidence reported by Boserup (1965) and others, which suggests that harvest seasons in traditional agriculture are characterized by severe labour shortage.Agricultural Intensification, Boserup, Labour Surplus, Malthus, Seasonality

From Domestic Manufacture to Industrial Revolution: Long-Run Growth and Agrucultural Development

This paper investigates the historical process of industrialisation. The allocation of labour between food and non-food activities and the pattern of consumption of domestic versus industrial manufacture are determined endogenously, depending on terms of trade between agricultural and industrial goods. It is demonstrated that growth in the industrial sector’s productivity is crucial to the expansion and development of the agricultural sector and thus to the transfer of labour from agriculture to industry and to economic growth. This view contrasts with the traditional perception according to which the agricultural sector leads in the process of industrialisation.agriculture; industrialisation; time-allocation; transition

A Malthusian model for all seasons?

An issue often discussed in relation to agricultural development is the effect on agricultural labour productivity of more intensive land-use. Introducing aspects of seasonality into a stylized Malthusian model, we unify two diverging views by showing that labour productivity may go up or down with agricultural intensification, depending on whether technological progress emerges in relation to cultivation or harvesting activities. Our result rests on evidence reported by Boserup (1965) and others, which suggests that harvest seasons in traditional agriculture are characterized by severe labour shortage.Une question souvent discutée par rapport au développement agricole est l'effet sur la productivité agricole de méthodes plus intensives d'utilisation de la terre. En présentant des éléments de saisonnalité dans un modèle malthusien stylisé, nous unifions deux vues divergentes en montrant que la productivité du travail peut augmenter ou diminuer avec l'intensification agricole, selon que le progrès technologique est concentré sur les activités de culture ou de récolte. Notre résultat repose sur des observations rapportées par Boserup (1965) et d'autres auteurs qui suggèrent que dans l'agriculture traditionnelle les saisons de récolte sont caractérisées par une pénurie sévère de travail