Why the wheels of human history seemed to turn faster for some
&gt; With the Industrial Revolution, according to Galor, the value of human capital reached the point that parents chose to have fewer children and invest more in their upbringing. Longer life spans made human capital even more important. As women’s wages began to approach those earned by men, it became more costly for them to leave the workforce to have children, further reducing birthrates. This demographic transition allowed technological progress to vastly outstrip population growth, producing our present world of material plenty.<p>I wonder if some of this is the demographic equivalent of having a fantastic time feasting on your seed corn.  IIRC, pretty much all these populations are at sub-replacement level, and some by quite a significant amount.