Working Paper: NBER ID: w15157
Authors: Nathan Nunn; Nancy Qian
Abstract: We exploit regional variation in suitability for cultivating potatoes, together with time variation arising from their introduction to the Old World from the Americas, to estimate the impact of potatoes on Old World population and urbanization. Our results show that the introduction of the potato was responsible for a significant portion of the increase in population and urbanization observed during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Keywords: Potato; Population Growth; Urbanization; Agricultural Productivity; Historical Experiment
JEL Codes: J1; N1; N5; O13; O14
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Potato cultivation (P32) | Population growth (J11) |
| Potato cultivation (P32) | Urbanization (R11) |
| Potato cultivation (P32) | Population growth rate (J11) |
| Potato cultivation (P32) | Urbanization growth rate (R11) |