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American Economic Review: Vol. 103 No. 1 (February 2013)

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The 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development

Article Citation

Ashraf, Quamrul, and Oded Galor. 2013. "The 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development." American Economic Review, 103(1): 1-46.

DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.1.1

Abstract

This research advances and empirically establishes the hypothesis that, in the course of the prehistoric exodus of Homo sapiens out of Africa, variation in migratory distance to various settlements across the globe affected genetic diversity and has had a persistent hump-shaped effect on comparative economic development, reflecting the trade-off between the beneficial and the detrimental effects of diversity on productivity. While the low diversity of Native American populations and the high diversity of African populations have been detrimental for the development of these regions, the intermediate levels of diversity associated with European and Asian populations have been conducive for development. (JEL N10, N30, N50, O10, O50, Z10)

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Authors

Ashraf, Quamrul (Williams College)
Galor, Oded (Brown U)

JEL Classifications

N10: Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations: General, International, or Comparative
N30: Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: General, International, or Comparative
N50: Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: General, International, or Comparative
O10: Economic Development: General
O50: Economywide Country Studies: General
Z10: Cultural Economics; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology: General


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