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Merchants and Mechanics

Exploring the History of Economic Growth

Category: facts of economic growth

The Role of Disease in Human History

The Role of Disease in Human History

April 10, 2018December 28, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth

Humans are an environmental niche, and organisms arise through mutation to populate it. Novel microbes can cause epidemics in which the death rate is very high.

Why Were the Americas so Underdeveloped when Europeans Reached Them?

Why Were the Americas so Underdeveloped when Europeans Reached Them?

February 19, 2018December 28, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth, history of technology, technological progress

Eurasia was able to produce food surpluses more than a thousand years before the Americas. Food surpluses led to specialization, which led to rapid development.

The Division of the World

The Division of the World

December 9, 2017December 28, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth, history of trade and commerce, Industrial Revolution, technological progress

W. Arthur Lewis explained why the world divided into manufacturers and primary producers, and into prosperous temperate countries and poor tropical countries.

More on the Division of the World

More on the Division of the World

December 9, 2017December 28, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth, history of trade and commerce

Long-distance trade grew rapidly during the nineteenth century. It led to a substantial widening of the gap between the per capita incomes of the West and the Third World.

One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Growth

One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Growth

December 2, 2017December 18, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth, history of technology, technological progress

American technological progress was rapid between 1920 and 1970, and slow after 1970. Why was it so rapid before 1970? Why was it so slow after 1970?

Why Nations Fail: 
Extractive and Inclusive Institutions

Why Nations Fail: 
Extractive and Inclusive Institutions

November 27, 2017December 28, 2022 Posted in economic institutions, facts of economic growth, political institutions, property rights, technological progress

Acemoglu and Robinson argue that a country’s prosperity is determined by its political and economic institutions. Casual empiricism supports their argument.

The Chinese Economy after Mao

The Chinese Economy after Mao

March 22, 2017December 28, 2022 Posted in facts of economic growth, history of economic growth

After the death of Mao, China introduced new economic policies that dramatically increased its rate of economic growth.

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