Malthus in Germany? Reproductive Success and Status in pre-industrial Germany

Ohler, Johann (2024): Malthus in Germany? Reproductive Success and Status in pre-industrial Germany.

Abstract

This paper studies the individual-level assumptions of the Malthusian model in pre-industrial Germany. By exploiting the demographic records of 150,000 individuals from the historical county of Wittgenstein, I test for status gradients in child mortality (the Malthusian positive check) and marital fertility (preventive check). While I find no evidence for a status gradient in child mortality, I find strong evidence for a status gradient in fertility. The richest families had, on average, one-and-a-half extra children compared to their poorer compatriots. Turning to the mechanics of the preventive check, this was driven by delayed marriage in low-status families. Disaggregation of my dataset into six periods reveals that this fertility differential began to disintegrate around 1800. I provide tentative evidence that urbanisation and industrialisation contributed to this demographic change.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: German Economic History; Malthus; Demographic History; European Marriage Pattern; Unified Growth Theory
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J12 - Marriage ; Marital Dissolution ; Family Structure ; Domestic Abuse; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J13 - Fertility ; Family Planning ; Child Care ; Children ; Youth; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy > N33 - Europe: Pre-1913; N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N93 - Europe: Pre-1913; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O40 - General

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