| This study suggests that change in infant nutrition played an important part in the economic development of Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern period. It is argued that since malnutrition in infancy can permanently stunt one's mental development, widespread malnutrition has negative effects on the intellectual capacity of a population. Further, because mental ability is positively related to an individual's innovative capacity, and because technology transfer is an educational process, the development and transfer of technology require certain abilities in the population. A population suffering poor infant nutrition, then, is less capable than a well nourished population of generating and diffusing technological change. A model of this relationship between ability and technological change is developed which suggests that an economy in which infant malnutrition is widespread will experience a slower rate of economic growth than one in which good nutrition is the norm; and that an improvement in the nutritional status of an undernourished population will increase the rate of economic growth.;Using this knowledge, the historical record of Great Britain and western Europe is examined. It is found that infants in the Middle Ages were probably malnourished, but as the typical crops grown in different areas changed, the nutritional status of infants also changed. Over the course of the last millennium, infant nutrition in western Europe and Great Britain improved, despite some temporary setbacks. Geographic differences in the rate of improvement are explored extensively. It is concluded that these long term improvements in infant nutrition had a positive impact on economic growth in Europe. At a minimum, they removed an obstacle to such growth.;It is then shown that the nutritional status of European infants improved over the period 1000 to 1870. The nutritional status of infants is estimated based upon known constraints on infant diets and the information available about the kinds of foods prevalent in different times and places. The analysis indicates that diets based on certain cereals, for example rye, would be deficient, and that simply by changing to other cereals, for example wheat, or by adding legumes, the diet could be improved. |
