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An evolutionary ecological perspective on demographic transitions: Modeling multiple currencies
Author(s) -
Low Bobbi S.,
Simon Carl P.,
Anderson Kermyt G.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.10043
Subject(s) - fertility , ceteris paribus , socioeconomic status , reproduction , demography , perspective (graphical) , panel study of income dynamics , economics , face (sociological concept) , work (physics) , demographic economics , geography , sociology , biology , ecology , population , computer science , social science , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , engineering , microeconomics
Abstract Life history theory postulates tradeoffs of current versus future reproduction; today women face evolutionarily novel versions of these tradeoffs. Optimal age at first birth is the result of tradeoffs in fertility and mortality; ceteris paribus , early reproduction is advantageous. Yet modern women in developed nations experience relatively late first births; they appear to be trading off socioeconomic status and the paths to raised SES, education and work, against early fertility. Here, [1] using delineating parameter values drawn from data in the literature, we model these tradeoffs to determine how much socioeconomic advantage will compensate for delayed first births and lower lifetime fertility; and [2] we examine the effects of work and education on women's lifetime and age‐specific fertility using data from seven cohorts in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:149–167, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.