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Celebrating legacy: The intergenerational transmission of reproduction and human capital in Ming–Qing Chinese families

In unified growth models, a key to achieving sustained economic growth is the evolving nexus between population dynamics and technological change. Sijie Hu of Renmin University of China uses the genealogical records of 36,456 males to investigate this nexus—the intergenerational transmission of reproduction and human capital—within six Chinese lineages from 1350 to 1920. By examining the relationship between reproduction and long-run reproductive success, the empirical results reveal an optimal level of reproduction of seven sons, although 99 percent of the sample had fewer than seven sons. Her finding suggests that, for the majority in the sample, greater reproduction in each generation was conducive to long-run reproductive success. In exploring the mechanisms through which reproduction affected long-run reproductive success, I investigate the relationship between child quantity and quality.

During this Quantitative History Webinar, Sijie will explain her results that indicate a quantity-quality trade-off of children was largely absent in the six lineages. She will also explain why her study concludes that, in Ming–Qing (1368–1911) China, the decision to have larger families provided significant advantages to high-status men, enabling them to produce a greater number of high-quality male descendants across successive generations.

Discussant: Carol H. Shiue, Professor of Economics, University of Colorado-Boulder

Live on Zoom on Thursday, May 30, 2024
21:00 Hong Kong/Beijing/Singapore | 22:00 Tokyo
09:00 New York |14:00 London | Click here to view your local time

The Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers, teachers, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series, now entering its fourth year, is co-organized by Centre for Quantitative History at the HKU Business School and International Society for Quantitative History in partnership with Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]). 量化歷史網上講座系列由香港大學陳志武和馬馳騁教授聯合發起，旨在介紹前沿量化歷史研究成果、促進同仁交流，推廣量化方法在歷史研究中的應用。本系列講座由香港大學經管學院量化歷史研究中心和國際量化歷史學會承辦，及香港人文社會研究所全力支持。從2023年開始，系列得到中國香港特別行政區研究資助局卓越學科領域計劃的重要資助 (項目編號[AoE/B-704/22-R])。

Conveners:
Zhiwu Chen
Chicheng Ma