Annual Hard Frosts, Scale Effects and Economic Development: A Case not Closed

In an influential 2001, Journal of Economic Growth paper, Masters and McMillan find that one factor differentiating wealthy countries from poor includes annual winter frosts, which helps farmers to increase agricultural productivity and helps people to control disease, particularly malaria. This paper discusses the robustness of the research finding that frost is a catchball for a variety of geographical indicators. The conclusion is that ultimate impact of frost upon growth is not clear-cut.