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

Emilio Depetris-Chauvin and Ömer Özak

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

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 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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 F10 F14 J24 N10 O10 O11 O12 O40 O43 O44 Z10 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-08-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-his and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/74703/1/MPRA_paper_74703.pdf original version (application/pdf)
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/77311/1/MPRA_paper_77311.pdf revised version (application/pdf)
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82702/1/MPRA_paper_82702.pdf revised version (application/pdf)
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82704/1/MPRA_paper_77311.pdf revised version (application/pdf)
https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82704/8/MPRA_paper_82702.pdf revised version (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor (2017)
Working Paper: The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:74703

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