The Potato's Contribution to Population and Urbanization: Evidence from an Historical Experiment

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.

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Year of publication:	2009-07
Authors:	Nunn, Nathan ; Qian, Nancy
Institutions:	National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Extent:	application/pdf
Series:	NBER Working Papers.
Type of publication:	Book / Working Paper
Notes:	CH DAE POL published as "The Potato's Contribution to Population and Urbanization: Evidence From A Historical Experiment" Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian Quarterly Journal of Economics (2011) 126 (2): 593-650. Number 15157
Classification:	J1 - Demographic Economics ; N1 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations ; N5 - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries ; O13 - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products ; O14 - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
Source:	RePEc - Research Papers in Economics

Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10005040632