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Human Genetic Diversity and Comparative Economic Development

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This research contributes to the understanding of human genetic diversity within a society as a significant determinant of its economic development. The hypothesis advanced and empirically examined in this paper suggests that there are socioeconomic trade-offs associated with genetic diversity within a given society. The investigation exploits an exogenous source of cross-country variation in genetic diversity by appealing to the “out of Africa” hypothesis of human origins to empirically establish a non-monotonic effect of genetic diversity on development outcomes in the pre-colonial era. Contrary to theories that reject a possible role for human genetics in influencing economic development, this study demonstrates the economic significance of diversity in genetic traits, while abstaining entirely from conceptual frameworks that posit a hierarchy of such traits in terms of their conduciveness to the process of economic development.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Brown University, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 2008-3.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:bro:econwp:2008-3

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Postal: Department of Economics, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912

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  1. Genetic diversity and development
    by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2009-03-06 20:45:00
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