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The Macrogenoeconomics of Comparative Development

Author

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  • Ashraf, Quamrul

    (Williams College)

  • Galor, Oded

    (Brown University)

Abstract

The importance of evolutionary forces for comparative economic performance across societies has been the focus of a vibrant literature, highlighting the roles played by the Neolithic Revolution and the prehistoric "out of Africa" migration of anatomically modern humans in generating worldwide variations in the composition of human traits. This essay surveys this literature and examines the contribution of a recent hypothesis regarding the evolutionary origins of comparative economic development, set forth in Nicholas Wade's A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, to this important line of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashraf, Quamrul & Galor, Oded, 2017. "The Macrogenoeconomics of Comparative Development," IZA Discussion Papers 10474, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10474
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    comparative development; human evolution; natural selection; genes; race; the out of Africa hypothesis; genetic diversity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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