Natural Selection and Innovation-Driven Growth

Chu, Angus and Cozzi, Guido and Fan, Haichao (2022): Natural Selection and Innovation-Driven Growth.

Abstract

This study develops an innovation-driven growth model with natural selection of heterogeneous households and endogenous takeoff. Families differ in their ability to accumulate human capital. In an early stage of development, households with lower education ability accumulate less human capital but choose to have more children and enjoy an evolutionary advantage. In a later stage of development, families with high education ability increase their number of children as their human capital rises over time. In the long run, high-ability households accumulate more human capital, and all families choose the same steady-state fertility rate. Therefore, households' population share and human capital converge to stationary distributions. Initially, the heterogeneity of households makes it more likely for an endogenous takeoff to occur; however, the temporary evolutionary disadvantage of high-ability families has a lasting negative impact on long-run growth. Finally, we provide evidence that heterogeneity in education indeed has adverse effects on education, innovation and economic growth in the long run.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: natural selection; innovation; economic development
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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