This paper argues that the introduction of compulsory schooling in early industrialization promoted the growth process that eventually led to a vicious cycle of population aging and negative pressure on education policy. In the early phases of industrialization, public education was undesirable for the young poor who relied on child labor. Compulsory schooling therefore discouraged childbirth, while the accompanying industrialization stimulated their demand for education. The subsequent rise in the share of the old population, however, limited government resources for education, placing heavier financial burdens on the young. This induced further fertility decline and population aging, and the resulting cycle may have delayed the growth of advanced economies in the last few decades.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number
13835.
Find related papers by JEL classification: H50 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - General J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General O40 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Simon Kuznets & Richard E. Quandt & Milton Friedman, 1960.
"Population Change and Aggregate Output,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, pages 340-367
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!]
Mookherjee, Dilip & Ray, Debraj, 2002.
"Persistent Inequality,"
Discussion Paper
57, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
[Downloadable!]