nep-evo 2016-08-28 papers

on Evolutionary Economics

Issue of 2016‒08‒28
two papers chosen by
Matthew Baker
City University of New York

The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor By Emilio Depetris-Chauvin; Ömer Özak
"Geographical Origins and Economic Consequences of Lanquage Structures" By Oded Galor; Omer Ozak; Assaf Sarid

The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor

By:	Emilio Depetris-Chauvin (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile); Ömer Özak (Southern Methodist University)
Abstract:	This research explores the deep historical roots and persistent effects of the division of labor in pre-modern societies. It advances the hypothesis, and establishes empirically that population diversity had a positive causal effect on the division of labor. Based on a novel ethnic level dataset combining geocoded ethnographic, linguistic and genetic data, this research exploits the exogenous variation in population diversity generated by historical migratory patterns to causally establish that higher levels of population diversity were conducive to economic specialization (of labor) and the emergence of trade-related institutions that, in turn, translated into differences in pre-modern comparative development. Additionally, this research provides suggestive evidence that regions historically inhabited by pre-modern societies with higher levels of economic specialization have higher levels of contemporary occupational heterogeneity, economic complexity and development.
Keywords:	Economic Specialization, Division of Labor, Trade, Comparative Development, Economic Development, Human Capital, Skill-Bias, Population Diversity, Genetic Diversity, Linguistic Diversity, Cultural Diversity, Persistence, Serial Founder Effect
JEL:	D74 F10 F14 J24 N10 O10 O11 O12 O40 O43 O44 Z10
Date:	2016–08
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smu:ecowpa:1610&r=evo

"Geographical Origins and Economic Consequences of Lanquage Structures"

By:	Oded Galor; Omer Ozak; Assaf Sarid
Abstract:	This research explores the economic causes and consequences of language structures. It advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that variations in pre-industrial geographical characteristics that were conducive to higher return to agricultural investment, larger gender gap in agricultural productivity, and more hierarchical society, are at the root of existing cross-language variations in the presence of the future tense, grammatical gender, and politeness distinctions. Moreover, the research suggests that while language structures have largely reflected the coding of past human experience and in particular the range of ancestral cultural traits in society, they independently affected human behavior and economic outcomes.
Date:	2016
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bro:econwp:2016-7&r=evo

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