State and Development: A Historical Study of Europe from 0 AD to 2000 AD

S.P. Harish (psr245@nyu.edu) and Christopher Paik (christopher.paik@nyu.edu)
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S.P. Harish: New York University

No 219, HiCN Working Papers from Households in Conflict Network

Abstract: State presence and longevity have long been associated with growth and development, and yet analyzing their relationship remains challenging as both the length of state rule and geographical boundaries change over time. After addressing conceptual and practical concerns on its construction, we present a measure of the mean duration of state rule that is aimed at resolving some of these issues. We then present our findings on the relationship between our measure and local development, drawing from observations in Europe spanning from 0 AD to 2000 AD. We find that during this period, the mean duration of state rule and the local income level have a nonlinear, inverse U-shaped relationship, controlling for a set of historical, geographic and socioeconomic factors. Regions that have historically experienced short or long duration of state rule on average lag behind in their local wealth today, while those that have experienced medium-duration state rule on average fare better.

Keywords: Development; Economic Output; Sovereign Turnovers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O10 O47 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2016-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gro and nep-his
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hic:wpaper:219

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