Reproductive Capacity, Growth and Long-Term Divergence

This article establishes the link between Reproductive Capacity, growth, and long-run divergence. Reproductive Capacity does not act as an additional factor, but through the transition of stocks and their future mobilization. An economy may grow without strengthening its reproductive conditions, while a reproductive improvement may have no effect on contemporaneous growth. Persistent reproductive differentials may, however, contribute to catching up or divergence. Finally, reproductive information must distinguish future trajectories that are not entirely determined by the other variables of the system, which requires identification of Reproductive Capacity independently of the outcomes explained.