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Population and prehistory III: Food-dependent demography in variable environments

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  • Lee, Charlotte T.
  • Puleston, Cedric O.
  • Tuljapurkar, Shripad

Abstract

The population dynamics of preindustrial societies depend intimately on their surroundings, and food is a primary means through which environment influences population size and individual well-being. Food production requires labor; thus, dependence of survival and fertility on food involves dependence of a population’s future on its current state. We use a perturbation approach to analyze the effects of random environmental variation on this nonlinear, age-structured system. We show that in expanding populations, direct environmental effects dominate induced population fluctuations, so environmental variability has little effect on mean hunger levels, although it does decrease population growth. The growth rate determines the time until population is limited by space. This limitation introduces a tradeoff between population density and well-being, so population effects become more important than the direct effects of the environment: environmental fluctuation increases mortality, releasing density dependence and raising average well-being for survivors. We discuss the social implications of these findings for the long-term fate of populations as they transition from expansion into limitation, given that conditions leading to high well-being during growth depress well-being during limitation.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Charlotte T. & Puleston, Cedric O. & Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 2009. "Population and prehistory III: Food-dependent demography in variable environments," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 179-188.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:thpobi:v:76:y:2009:i:3:p:179-188
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2009.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lee, Charlotte T. & Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 2008. "Population and prehistory I: Food-dependent population growth in constant environments," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 73(4), pages 473-482.
    2. Lee Ronald, 1993. "Accidental and Systematic Change in Population History: Homeostasis in a Stochastic Setting," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Puleston, Cedric O. & Tuljapurkar, Shripad, 2008. "Population and prehistory II: Space-limited human populations in constant environments," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 147-160.
    4. Tommy Bengtsson & Cameron Campbell & James Z. Lee, 2004. "Life Under Pressure: Mortality and Living Standards in Europe and Asia, 1700-1900," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262025515, April.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Clement Tisdell & Serge Svizzero, 2020. "The Ability in Antiquity of Some Agrarian Societies to Avoid the Malthusian Trap and Develop," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(2), pages 202-227, April.

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