Working Paper: NBER ID: w12657
Authors: Diego Comin; William Easterly; Erick Gong
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.
Keywords: technology adoption; economic development; ancient history
JEL Codes: N70; O3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technology adoption in 1000 BC (O33) | Modern per capita GDP (P19) |
| Technology adoption in 0 AD (O33) | Current development outcomes (O15) |
| Technology adoption in 1500 AD (O33) | Modern per capita GDP (P19) |
| Technology adoption in 1500 AD (O33) | Population size (J11) |
| Historical technology adoption (O33) | Total GDP (E20) |
| Agricultural technology in 1000 BC (Q16) | Current development (O39) |
| Communication technology in 1500 AD (L96) | Current development (O39) |