Population Growth and Technological Change: a Pure Welfarist Approach

Thomas Renström (t.i.renstrom@durham.ac.uk) and Luca Spataro
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Thomas Renström: Durham University, Durham University Business School

No 2013_03, CEMAP Working Papers from Durham University Business School

Abstract: In this paper we characterize the optimal steady state and dynamics of an intertemporal economy in presence of endogenous fertility. For doing this we propose a new version of Critical Level Utilitarianism (CLU) a là Blackorby et al (1995), that we call Relative CLU, which is shown to be axiomatically founded and allows for time-varying critical level. In particular, we show that under such social preferences both the short and the long run effects of technological shocks on the optimal population growth are non-trivial, depending on the characteristics of both preferences and production technology. However, we show that the negative relationship between fertility and technological development emerges under a broad class of preferences, which is typically found in empirical research.

Keywords: critical level utilitarianism; population; technology shocks; transitional dynamics. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-03
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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