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http://hdl.handle.net/10419/62667
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| Title: | | Human genetic diversity and comparative economic development  |
| Authors: | | Ashraf, Quamrul Galor, Oded |
| Issue Date: | | 2008 |
| Series/Report no.: | | Working Paper, Brown University, Department of Economics 2008-3 |
| Abstract: | | 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 highly statistically significant and robust 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. |
| Subjects: | | Human genetic diversity Comparative development Population density Neolithic Revolution Land productivity Malthusian stagnation |
| JEL: | | N10 N30 N50 O10 O50 Z10 |
| Document Type: | | Working Paper |
| Appears in Collections: | | Working Papers, Department of Economics, Brown University
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