Vox:
On the spatial distribution of development: the roles of nature and history
31 January 2017
Economists point to three factors to explain how population is distributed: geographical characteristics, agglomeration, and history. This column, taken from a new Vox eBook, examines how economic and technological development have changed the ways in which two first-nature characteristics – suitability for growing food and suitability for engaging in trade – impact population distribution.
This column first appeared as a chapter in the Vox eBook, The Long Economic and Political Shadow of History, Volume 1, available to download here.