The Out-of-Africa Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development
Oded Galor Visiting Professor from Brown University
Mon Jan 24, 12-01:00pm, E52-244
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
This research argues that deep-rooted factors, determined tens of thousands of years ago, had a significant effect on the course of economic development from the dawn of human civilization to the contemporary era. It advances and empirically establishes the hypothesis that, in the course of the exodus of Homo sapiens out of Africa, variation in migratory distance from the cradle of humankind to various settlements across the globe affected genetic diversity and has had a long-lasting effect on the pattern of comparative economic development that is not captured by geographical, institutional, and cultural factors. In particular, the level of genetic diversity within a society is found to have a hump-shaped effect on development outcomes in both the pre-colonial and the modern era, reflecting the trade-off between the beneficial and the detrimental effects of diversity on productivity.
Contact: Ruth Levitsky, E52-252, x3-3399, levitsky@mit.edu
Sponsor: Economics
Latest update: 22-Dec-2010
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