Macro partitioning
Improvements in household technology (electrification and appliance diffusion) did not cause the mid-20th century baby boom; instead, evidence shows a negative correlation between technology access and fertility rates.
This paper refutes the economic theory that household technology drives fertility increases. It argues that the baby boom was not caused by appliances like washing machines or refrigerators, pointing to negative correlations between technology access and birth rates, and noting that the Amish, who limited technology use, still had a baby boom.
We present new empirical evidence that is inconsistent with this claim. Rapid advances in household technology began long before 1940 while fertility declined; differences and changes in appliance ownership and electrification in U.S. counties are negatively correlated with fertility rates from 1940 to 1960... Moreover, the Amish, a group strictly limiting the use of modern household technologies, experienced a sizable and coincident baby boom.
Why this rating
The paper uses multiple robust empirical approaches (time-series, county-level cross-sections, first-differenced regressions, and Amish demographic history) to reach a consistent conclusion.
Source
The Technology Boom
L. Anne Gilmore et al. · Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology · 2014
DOI 10.1177/1932296814525189
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