Evolutionary dynamics of culturally transmitted, fertility-reducing traits.

ABSTRACT: Human populations in many countries have undergone a phase of demographic transition, characterized by a major reduction in fertility at a time of increased resource availability. A key stylized fact is that the reduction in fertility is preceded by a reduction in mortality and a consequent increase in population density. Various theories have been proposed to account for the demographic transition process, including maladaptation, increased parental investment in fewer offspring, and cultural evolution. None of these approaches, including formal cultural evolutionary models of the demographic transitions, have addressed a possible direct causal relationship between a reduction in mortality and the subsequent decline in fertility. We provide mathematical models in which low mortality

SUBMITTER: Wodarz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7211447 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature