POL S 204 The First Economic Revolution North Thomas Quiz section Reading Notes BASIC ARGUMENT EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY RIGHTS WILL RAISE THE INCENTIVE TO ACQUIRE NEW KNOWLEDGE SHORT VERSION Evolution to exclusive property rights PERSISTENT POPULATION PRESSURE RELATIVE SCARCITY OF RESOURCES EXPLOITED BY PREHISTORIC MAN TRIBES ATTEMPT TO EXCLUDE BECOME SEDENTARY RESOURCE BASE EXCLUSIVE COMMUNAL PROPERTY RAISED RETURN ON IMPROVING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF NOTES Providing new explanation for Neolithic revolution property rights Neolithic revolution cid 127 man s increased control over nature larger population higher standard of living complex civilizations Incremental process Property rights account for the significant increase in the rate of human progress after this revolution Change in incentives sufficient to encourage the development of cultivation and domestication Three possible causes for Neolithic Revolution decline in productivity of hunting increased productivity of agriculture increased labor force 5 prehistoric facts that transition explanations must be consistent with In this section we shall postulate a behavioral assumption examined nature of existing property rights and prehistory and specify the demographic characteristics of the model then trace how GROWING POPULATION with in the existing PROPERTY RIGHTS could result in transition from hunting to agriculture Assumption of man s choice he will choose the best alternative cid 127 Man will behave differently under different PROPERTY RIGHTS best chance for survival natural selection COMMON PROPERTY Unconstrained access cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 Inefficient utilization wasteful Depletion Add in competition Increased incentive to exploit the resource danger of extinction too many hunters not enough animals some percentage must find a new food source agriculture began small group shared fruits beginning of property rights Technology advanced specialization Agriculture became more rewarding than hunting gathering Population as long as there is a decent standard of life man has always increased in numbers Homeostatic population only possible if fixed resource additional people would result in diminishing returns exclusive communal property rights no competition Regulation of access to the resource can only exist in isolated Bands historically they would die out Historically people were mobile and hunted large animals population growth caused people to expand large animals to die out groups split off open donor system Constant returns to an increasing labor force provided there was open land inside the population frontier no more land Homeostatic population unlikely Population growth led to a decline in marginal returns for hunting gathering Search for new food source need to adapt Development of exclusive communal property rights result of scarcity diminished returns on labor Evolution of property rights exclude others cid 127 more people could be productive sedentary lifestyle debate of which location fertile vs less fertile KNOWLEDGE establish exclusive territory improve cultivation productivity of territory increased marginal value of territory exclusive property rights encourage people to risk in order to reap the benefits inovation improved technology methods BASIC ARGUMENT EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY RIGHTS WILL RAISE THE INCENTIVE TO ACQUIRE NEW cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 SHORT VERSION PERSISTENT POPULATION PRESSURE RELATIVE SCARCITY OF RESOURCES EXPLOITED BY PREHISTORIC MAN TRIBES ATTEMPT TO EXCLUDE BECOME SEDENTARY RESOURCE BASE EXCLUSIVE COMMUNAL PROPERTY RAISED RETURN ON IMPROVING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127