Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution

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ID: 290317
2002
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Abstract
Among countries colonized by European powers during the past 500 years, those that were relatively rich in 1500 are now relatively poor. We document this reversal using data on urbanization patterns and population density, which, we argue, proxy for economic prosperity. This reversal weighs against a view that links economic development to geographic factors. Instead, we argue that the reversal reflects changes in the institutions resulting from European colonialism. The European intervention appears to have created an "institutional reversal" among these societies, meaning that Europeans were more likely to introduce institutions encouraging investment in regions that were previously poor. This institutional reversal accounts for the reversal in relative incomes. We provide further support for this view by documenting that the reversal in relative incomes took place during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and resulted from societies with good institutions taking advantage of the opportunity to industrialize.
Reference Key
openalex_W3125412951 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Daron Acemoğlu, Simon Johnson, James A. Robinson
Journal the quarterly journal of economics
Year 2002
DOI
10.1162/003355302320935025
URL
https://doi.org/10.1162/003355302320935025
Keywords Keywords not found

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