Doug Henwood wrote:
> [from the Social Science Research Network's development working paper
> abstracts]
>
> "Genetics, Family Structure, and Economic Growth"
>
> BY: PAUL J. ZAK
> Claremont Graduate University
>
> Document: Available from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection:
> http://papers.ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract_id=161510
>
> Other Electronic Document Delivery:
> ftp://cgsftp.cgs.edu/pub/papers/zakp/gene.pdf
> SSRN only offers technical support for papers
> downloaded from the SSRN Electronic Paper Collection
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> them into your browser eliminating all spaces.
>
> Date: April 15, 1999
>
> Contact: PAUL J. ZAK
> Email: Mailto:paul.zak at cgu.edu
> Postal: Claremont Graduate University
> Claremont, CA 91711-6165 USA
> Phone: (909)621-8788
> Fax: (909)621-8460
>
> ABSTRACT:
> Recent biomedical research shows that roughly three-quarters of
> cognitive abilities are attributable to genetics and family
> environment. This paper presents a theory of growth in which
> human capital is determined by inheritable factors and family
> size. The distribution of income is shown to affect the number
> of births, with greater inequality raising the fertility rate
> and reducing output growth in the transitional dynamics. If
> human or physical stocks are sufficiently low, the model shows
> that an economy can be caught in a fertility-caused poverty
> trap, while countries with more resources will converge to a
> balanced growth path where the average rate of transmission of
> human capital from parents to children determines the long-run
> rate of output growth.
>
> JEL Classification: D9, J13
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu