Revolutionary Transition: Inheritance Change and Fertility Decline

Victor Gay (), Paula Gobbi and Marc Goñi
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Marc Goñi: UiB - University of Bergen, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research

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Abstract: We test Le Play's (1875) hypothesis that the French Revolution contributed to France's early fertility decline by imposing equal partition of inheritance among all children, including women. We combine new data on local inheritance rules before the Revolution and individual-level demographic data from historical sources and crowdsourced genealogies. Difference-in-differences and regression-discontinuity estimates show that the inheritance reforms enacted during the Revolution reduced completed fertility by 0.5 children. A key mechanism was the desire to avoid land fragmentation across generations. These reforms closed the fertility gap between regions with different historical inheritance rules and crucially contributed to France's demographic transition.

Keywords: Demographic transition; Fertility; French Revolution; Inheritance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-12-04
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Working Paper: Revolutionary Transition: Inheritance Change and Fertility Decline (2023)
Working Paper: Revolutionary Transition: Inheritance Changeand Fertility Decline (2023)
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