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Long-Term Barriers to Economic Development

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  • Spolaore, Enrico

    (Tufts University)

  • Wacziarg, Romain

    (UCLA, NBER and CEPR)

Abstract

What obstacles prevent the most productive technologies from spreading to less developed economies from the worlds technological frontier? In this paper, we seek to shed light on this question by quantifying the geographic and human barriers to the transmission of technologies. We argue that the intergenerational transmission of human traits, particularly culturally trans- mitted traits, has led to divergence between populations over the course of history. In turn, this divergence has introduced barriers to the di¤usion of technologies across societies. We provide measures of historical and genealogical distances between populations, and document how such distances, relative to the worlds technological frontier, act as barriers to the di¤usion of devel- opment and of speci c innovations. We provide an interpretation of these results in the context of an emerging literature seeking to understand variation in economic development as the result of factors rooted deep in history.

Suggested Citation

  • Spolaore, Enrico & Wacziarg, Romain, 2013. "Long-Term Barriers to Economic Development," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 149, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:149
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    Cited by:

    1. Anastasia Litina, 2016. "Natural land productivity, cooperation and comparative development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 351-408, December.
    2. Oded Galor & Ömer Özak, 2016. "The Agricultural Origins of Time Preference," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(10), pages 3064-3103, October.
    3. Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2018. "Ancestry and development: New evidence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 748-762, August.
    4. Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2020. "The Ancient Origins of the Wealth of Nations," Working Papers 2020-22, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    5. Assaf Sarid & Oded Galor, "undated". "Geographical Origins and Economic Consequences of Language Structures," Working Papers WP2017/4, University of Haifa, Department of Economics.
    6. Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2022. "Fertility and Modernity," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(642), pages 796-833.
    7. Ani Harutyunyan & Omer Ozak, 2016. "Culture, Diffusion, and Economic Development," LICOS Discussion Papers 38216, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    8. Oded Galor & Omer Ozak & Assaf Sarid, 2016. "Origins and Consequences of Lanquage Structures," Working Papers 2016-7, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    9. Ertan, Arhan & Fiszbein, Martin & Putterman, Louis, 2016. "Who was colonized and when? A cross-country analysis of determinants," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 165-184.
    10. M. Del Gatto & C. Mastinu, 2015. "Geography, Cultural Remoteness and Economic Development: A Regional Analysis of the Economic Consequences of Insularity," Working Paper CRENoS 201503, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    11. Jürgen Janger & Agnes Kügler & Andreas Reinstaller & Fabian Unterlass, 2017. "Austria 2025 – Looking Out For the Frontier(s): Towards a New Framework For Frontier Measurement in Science, Technology and Innovation," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59289, February.
    12. P. Dorian Owen, 2017. "Evaluating Ingenious Instruments for Fundamental Determinants of Long-Run Economic Growth and Development," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-33, September.
    13. Oded Galor & Omer Ozak & Assaf Sarid, 2018. "Geographical Origins of Language Structures ," Working Papers 2018-5, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    14. Dombi, Akos & Grigoriadis, Theocharis, 2017. "Ancestry, Diversity & Finance: Evidence from Transition Economies," Discussion Papers 2017/4, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    15. Leyla Gamidullaeva & Saniyat Agamagomedova, 2023. "How Administrative Regulation Institutional Factors Affect the Business Efficiency in a Region: A Case Study of Russian Regions," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, March.
    16. Klemp, Marc & Ashraf, Quamrul & Galor, Oded, 2020. "The Ancient Origins of the Wealth of Nations," CEPR Discussion Papers 15345, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Natkhov, Timur & Vasilenok, Natalia, 2021. "Skilled immigrants and technology adoption: Evidence from the German settlements in the Russian empire," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Ho, Chi Pui, 2016. "GeoPopulation-Institution Hypothesis: Reconciling American Development Process and Reversal of Fortune within a Unified Growth Framework," MPRA Paper 73863, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Oded Galor & Omer Ozak & Assaf Sarid, 2018. "Geographical Origins of Language Structures ," Working Papers 2018-5, Brown University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Long-run growth; genetic distance; intergenerational transmission; di¤usion of innovations.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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