Germs, Ideas and Growth

Laura Veldkamp and Alessandra Fogli

No 167, 2010 Meeting Papers from Society for Economic Dynamics

Abstract: Why do countries with a higher prevalence of disease grow much more slowly than their seemingly-similar neighbors? While Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2001) document a relationship between disease and growth for colonies and argue that the colonization process is an important determinant of growth, we show that the disease-growth relationship holds much more broadly. Our theory revolves around the idea that germs and technologies spread in similar ways – through human contact. If societies where disease is prevalent reduce their mobility in order to guard against infection, they will also end up reducing the flow of ideas and inhibiting technological progress.

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:red:sed010:167

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