Was the Wealth of Nations Determined in 1000 B.C.?

46 Pages Posted: 20 Nov 2006 Last revised: 3 Aug 2022

See all articles by Diego Comin

Diego Comin

New York University (NYU) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

William Easterly

New York University - Department of Economics

Erick Gong

Middlebury College

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Date Written: October 2006

Abstract

We assemble a dataset on technology adoption in 1000 B.C., 0 A.D., and 1500 A.D. for the predecessors to today's nation states. We find that this very old history of technology adoption is surprisingly significant for today's national development outcomes. Although our strongest results are for 1500 A.D., we find that even technology as old as 1000 BC matters in some plausible specifications.

Suggested Citation

Comin, Diego and Easterly, William and Gong, Erick, Was the Wealth of Nations Determined in 1000 B.C.? (October 2006). NBER Working Paper No. w12657, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=940606

Diego Comin (Contact Author)

New York University (NYU) - Department of Economics ( email )

269 Mercer Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10011
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

William Easterly

New York University - Department of Economics ( email )

269 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10003
United States

Erick Gong

Middlebury College ( email )

Middlebury, VT 05753
United States

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