Geography Flashcards
Olsson and Hibbs
Models the transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculture economy, which led to endogenous technological progress that led to the Industrial Revolution. Geographic and biogeogaphic conditions influenced location and timing of transitions to sedentary agriculture, to complex social organization, and to modern industrial production. Specifically prevalence in prehistory of plants and animals suited to domestication. Notes that the majority of poor countries now are found in the tropical climate zone near the equator, with severe heat, discontinuous water supply, debilitating diseases, deficient natural conditions for transport
Responds to Acemoglu, that geography/settler conditions created the INSTITUTIONS that were important for growth, and that geography’s effects are indirect and through institutional development. Olsson and Hibbs start withe the neolithic revolution 10K years ago, which is a more defining historical era, which gave Europe the ability to colonise the rest of the world, whereas Acemoglu et al start in 1500 AD. Argue institutions have proximate and statistically powerful effects on economic performance, buy geography retains significance, and does not face the problem of joint endogeneity and reverse causality as institutions do.
Data shows that half of the 1997 international variation in output per person can be explained by exogenous geography and prehistoric biogeography
Diamond
Eurasia had favourable biogeographic conditions, including a large land mass and many plants, animals and innovations that could be shared. In comparison, one cannot take horses or technology to sub-Saharan Africa, because of malaria and climate etc.
a) the enormous size of the Eurasian continent, and b) its large Mediterranean zone in the western part and the East-West orientation of its major axis meant that Eurasia was disproportionately endowed with plants suited to cultivation, animals suited to domestication, and natural corridors of transit and communication suited to the diffusion of innovations. Surplus from agricultural revolution led to non-producing class.
The crops, knowledge, institutions, horses, knowledge, weapons, and animal-based germs in Eurasia overwhelmed indigenous communities in the Americas, Africa, and Australia
Kremer
larger populations meant a higher rate of technological change
Engerman and Sokoloff
‘Factor endowments’. Soil quality and climate made the marginal productivity of slaves higher in producing crops such sugar, so slaves were sent to those areas, and the extractive institutions (plantations) were set up, leading to very unequal distribution of wealth. Carribean, Barbados and Cuba were the most prosperous, with 50-67% higher per capita income than the US. VS US and Canada - low population densities, no right endowments for slave economies so good institutions. Family farms, people did not fight over snowy Canada and instead fought over the Carribean. Initial endowments important for how institutions developed. Cannot just say institutions create better growth - have to ask where different institutions came from
Nunn and Puga
Rugged geography/terrains of Africa meant that slave trade was negatively impacted (it was harder to build roads and disrupt the initial equilibrium, and protected those being raided during the slave trade), which led to a positive economic growth. Hence ruggedness in countries in Africa are negatively correlated with GDP per capita vs other non-African countries. Robustly controlled, including correlation with tropical diseases, mineral deposits and soil quality.
Geography is historically contingent. Argue for a more nuanced effect of geography on economic outcomes, which works through past interactions with key historical events. Also notes differential effects of ruggedness, with negative common effect of ruggedness for the world as a whole, with increasing costs of trade, construction and agriculture. Hence geography through historic channels
Austin
Sub-Saharan Africa was historically characterised by land abundance and labour scarcity - Africa is longitudinally aligned but not latitudinally aligned, hence agricultural advances in more temperate climates are not as easily imported. This geographical characteristic may have limited capital formation - if you have a lot of land, you use extensive margins, i.e. just using as much land as possible, vs if you have less land, you use intensive margins, where you try and improve land productivity (supports Diamond)
Michalopoulos et al
What predicts adherence to Islam? 1) proximity to the pre-600 CE trade network, 2) regions that are ecologically similar to the birthplace of the religion, the Arabian Peninsula (arid and semi-arid regions dotted with few pockets of fertile land). Geographically, these places had a poor and unequal distribution of agricultural potential - Islam as an institutional package appropriate for societies residing along unequally endowed regions in the vicinity of trade opportunities, allowing the flourishing of long-distance trade routes
Lewis
‘Temperate drift hypothesis’ - areas in the tropics had an early advantage, but later agricultural technologies, such as the heavy plow, crop rotation systems, domesticated animals, and high-yield crops, favoured countries in the temperate areas. Hence temperate areas would start off less developed, but gain an economic advantage as such agricultural technologies spread.
Landes
Development has been relatively slow in the tropics because of 1) heat, 2) water supply, and 3) disease. Severe heat reduces human working capacity. Water supply is problematic since it tends to be either too scarce (as in the Sahara) or too abundant (as in Amazonia) for agriculture based on annual grasses. The prevalence of serious tropical diseases like malaria, schistosomiasis, and River Blindness, poses a major obstacle to the use of animals like horses and cattle (bad for human health too).
Bloom and Sachs
Bad conditions for transport in Africa: 1) A relatively small coastline, 2) few natural ports, 3) the highest proportion of the population within landlocked states, and 4) the absence of rivers navigable for ocean-going vessels
Bentzen et al
Point source resources
Examined fertile land surrounded by desert terrain to test hydraulic theory - places that needed irrigation developed a social contract where they gave up some freedoms for the state to control irrigation. Corroborates Allen’s findings that the first states emerged in regions surrounded by arid areas, whic had uneven rainfall but were close to rivers. Irrigation allows landed elites in arid areas to monopolize water and consequently arable land. That increases inequality and makes elites more powerful, and better able to oppose democratization than their peers in rainfed societies. Corroborates studies showing broad measures of oil, mineral, and plantation crops wealth are associated with poor institutions in developing countries. What oil, minerals, and plantations crops have in common with water for irrigation is that they are “point-source” resources, i.e., resources that are easy to monopolize.
Allen
How did states form?
1) hydraulic theory - need a state to be able to police agriculture and ensure they can help with the irrigation system eg. the Nile in Egypt - society demands a state to enforce this.
2) Individuals want trade, so state emerges bottom-up as a way to facilitate that.
3) Circumscription theory - Egypt was surrounded by desert, so it was very hard to flee, hence easier to coerce labour (Fertile Crescent etc)
