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

Abstract

In unified growth models, a key to achieving sustained economic growth is the evolving nexus between population dynamics and technological change. This paper uses the genealogical records of 36,456 males to investigate the 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 that the optimal level of reproduction exceeded the sample median. This finding suggests that 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. The results indicate an absence of quantity-quality trade-off of children in the six lineages. This paper concludes that, in Ming–Qing (1368–1911) China, opting for larger families conferred definite advantages upon high-status men, enabling them to produce a greater number of high-quality male descendants across successive generations. JEL Classification I25, J13, N35, O15