Biogeography and Long-Run Economic Development

Abstract

The transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to agricultural production, which made possible the endogenous technological progress that ultimately led to the Industrial Revolution, is one of the most important events in thousands of years of humankind's economic development. In this paper we present theory and evidence showing that geographic and initial biogeographic conditions exerted decisive influence on the location and timing of transitions to sedentary agriculture, to complex social organization and, eventually, to modern industrial production. Evidence from a large cross-section of countries indicates that the effects of geography and biogeography on contemporary levels of economic development are remarkably strong.

Keywords: geography, biogeography and growth, economic development, agricultural revolution, institutions and growth, plants, animals and growth, Jared Diamond

JEL Classification: : N10; N50; O10; O41