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Gender Equality and Long-Run Growth

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Abstract

This research suggests that long-run economic and demographic development in Europe can be better understood when related to long-term trends in gender equality, dating back to the spread of Christianity. We set up a growth model where gaps in female-to-male human capital arise at equilibrium through a coordination process. An economy which over a long stretch of time re-coordinates on continuously more equal equilibria—as one could argue happened in Europe—exhibits growth patterns qualitatively similar to that of Europe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, Canada, ON, M3J 1P3

    Nils-Petter Lagerlöf

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  1. Nils-Petter Lagerlöf
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Lagerlöf, NP. Gender Equality and Long-Run Growth. Journal of Economic Growth 8, 403–426 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026256917489

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