The U.S. Demographic Transition

This is the working paper version of Greenwood and Seshadri (American Economic Review, May, 2002). It contains some unpublished material on the data analysis. Also included are lecture notes for the paper.Between 1800 and 1940 the U.S. went through a dramatic demographic transition. In 1800 the average woman had 7 children, and 94 percent of the population lived in rural areas. By 1940 the average woman birthed just 2 kids, and only 43 percent of populace lived in the country. The question is: What accounted for this shift in the demographic landscape? The answer given here is that technological progress in agriculture and manufacturing explains these facts