Historically, industrialization has been associated with falling relative returns to skills. This fact is at odds with most unified theories of industrialization, which tend to imply rising skill premia as natural concomitants of economic growth. This paper develops a very simple model of historical growth to help solve this puzzle. Assuming that human capital is both a consumption good and an investment good, the model demonstrates how gradually rising investments in human capital, nonmonotonic fertility rates, and falling skill premia can all be explained within one theory.
Economically Relevant Human Capital or Multi-Purpose Consumption Good? Book Ownership in Pre-Modern Württemberg