Cereals, Appropriability and Hierarchy

Joram Mayshar, Omer Moav, Zvika Neeman and Luigi Pascali

No 10742, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We propose that the development of social hierarchy following the Neolithic Revolution was an outcome of the ability of the emergent elite to appropriate cereal crops from farmers and not a result of land productivity, as argued by conventional theory. We argue that cereals are easier to appropriate than roots and tubers, and that regional differences in the suitability of land for different crops explain therefore differences in the formation of hierarchy and states. A simple model illustrates our main theoretical argument. Our empirical investigation shows that land suitability for cereals relative to suitability for tubers explains the formation of hierarchical institutions and states, whereas land productivity does not.

Keywords: Geography; Hierarchy; Institutions; State capacity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 D82 H10 O43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-gro and nep-his
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP10742 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Working Paper: Cereals, Appropriability and Hierarchy (2016)
Working Paper: Cereals, Appropriability and Hierarchy (2016)
Working Paper: Cereals, Appropriability and Hierarchy (2015)
Working Paper: Cereals Appropriability and Hierarchy (2015)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10742

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP10742

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().