Menopause and the Specialization of Labor: An Economic Analysis
2005/08/30
研討會日期 : 2005-08-30
時間 : 15:00
主講人 : Prof. Chu, Cyrus C. Y.
地點 : B棟110室
演講者簡介 : Prof. Chu, Cyrus C. Y. 為Ph.D. in Economics，University of Michigan，Ann Arbor (1985)。
現為本所特聘研究員。
其主要研究領域為Population Economics、Law and Economics、Public Economics及Regional Economics。
演講摘要 : In the context of optimal age-specific life history, individuals choose the allocation of energy into uses of fertility and survival maintenance. Menopause arises, by definition, when one chooses a corner-solution fertility in her old age. Empirical evidence from species shows that the post-reproductive grandmother often exercise a division of labor with their daughters, and the former often specializes either in guarding and baby-sitting their grandchildren, or in foraging and hunting. We set up a model of optimal life history characterizing the feature of specialized division of labor, explain its relation with the evolution of menopause, and explore why menopause is observed only in few sophisticated species such as humans, whales and dolphins.
