The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India

Green Revolution technologies were developed and promoted to boost food supplies and foster development, both of which were expected to create breathing space for achieving demographic transitions in developing countries through lowered human fertility. Little comprehensive research, however, has be...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Vosti, Stephen A., Witcover, Julie, Lipton, Michael
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 1994
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156859
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author Vosti, Stephen A.
Witcover, Julie
Lipton, Michael
author_browse Lipton, Michael
Vosti, Stephen A.
Witcover, Julie
author_facet Vosti, Stephen A.
Witcover, Julie
Lipton, Michael
author_sort Vosti, Stephen A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Green Revolution technologies were developed and promoted to boost food supplies and foster development, both of which were expected to create breathing space for achieving demographic transitions in developing countries through lowered human fertility. Little comprehensive research, however, has been done on the effects of those technologies themselves on human fertility -- leaving unanswered the question of whether particular types of agricultural technologies were actually increasing, or decreasing, this demographic "breathing space." This paper uses District-level data from rural India on agricultural change (from 1961 to 1981) and changes in human fertility (from 1971 to 1981) to assess the impact of the former on the latter, with particular emphasis on high yielding (HYV) Green Revolution technologies. Modifying a conceptual framework derived from theory on the determinants of fertility, and estimating a reduced form model that explicitly accounts for endogeneity of real wage growth, we find that, while socio-cultural and demographic factors were the strongest determinants of fertility change: a) Green Revolution and related technologies did have an impact on fertility change; b) that the magnitude and direction of this impact was technology specific; and c) that the impact was only partially due to the effect of the new technologies on changes in real wage growth.
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spelling CGSpace1568592025-11-06T07:18:37Z The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India Vosti, Stephen A. Witcover, Julie Lipton, Michael green revolution green technology fertility agricultural innovation Green Revolution technologies were developed and promoted to boost food supplies and foster development, both of which were expected to create breathing space for achieving demographic transitions in developing countries through lowered human fertility. Little comprehensive research, however, has been done on the effects of those technologies themselves on human fertility -- leaving unanswered the question of whether particular types of agricultural technologies were actually increasing, or decreasing, this demographic "breathing space." This paper uses District-level data from rural India on agricultural change (from 1961 to 1981) and changes in human fertility (from 1971 to 1981) to assess the impact of the former on the latter, with particular emphasis on high yielding (HYV) Green Revolution technologies. Modifying a conceptual framework derived from theory on the determinants of fertility, and estimating a reduced form model that explicitly accounts for endogeneity of real wage growth, we find that, while socio-cultural and demographic factors were the strongest determinants of fertility change: a) Green Revolution and related technologies did have an impact on fertility change; b) that the magnitude and direction of this impact was technology specific; and c) that the impact was only partially due to the effect of the new technologies on changes in real wage growth. 1994 2024-10-24T12:45:52Z 2024-10-24T12:45:52Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156859 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Vosti, Stephen A.; Witcover, Julie; Lipton, Michael. 1994. The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India. EPTD Discussion Paper 5. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156859
spellingShingle green revolution
green technology
fertility
agricultural innovation
Vosti, Stephen A.
Witcover, Julie
Lipton, Michael
The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title_full The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title_fullStr The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title_full_unstemmed The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title_short The impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility: district-level evidence from India
title_sort impact of technical change in agriculture on human fertility district level evidence from india
topic green revolution
green technology
fertility
agricultural innovation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/156859
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