Selection and the Roy Model in the Neolithic Transition

Nurfatima Jandarova () and Aldo Rustichini ()
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Nurfatima Jandarova: Tampere University, Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research (FIT)
Aldo Rustichini: University of Minnesota

No 27, Working Papers from Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research

Abstract: We analyze the evolution of the distribution of genotypes in European populations over the past 14,000 years. In our model, evolution is driven by selection operating after a shift in the productivity of agriculture, induced by the post-Younger Dryas climate change, in a Roy model where individuals self-select into one of two sectors, foraging and farming. The model extends a standard Wright-Fisher model to include two technologies and sexual reproduction. We test the model in two data sets, ancient and modern DNA, matching the observed distributions of genetic variables (allele frequencies and lineages). We show that a shift in the distribution of allele frequencies in a direction favoring higher cognitive ability, occurred when climate warming changed the relative productivity of agriculture and foraging. The general implication we draw is that historical transformations (e.g., climate change and technological change) may affect the distribution of genotype and thus economic equilibria and institutions.

Keywords: technological change; occupational choice; individual characteristics; genetic transmission; population genetics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E71 J24 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 64
Date: 2024-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-evo, nep-his and nep-lma
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Published in FIT Working Paper Series, Finnish Center of Excellence in Tax Systems Research

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