> fabio wrote:
> >2) The real question is whether the current distribution of wealth is
> >typical or not. If you did the same study 1000 AD, would you get the same
> >picture?
>
> This is indeed the right question to ask. There seem to be just too
> many possible explanatory variables and too few independent data points
> at the moment. The solution: get more data points!
> Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu
The earliest high civilizations seem to have been in the warmer areas:
Central America rather than where the US and Canada now are; Egypt and
Mesopotamia rather than further north in Europe; India rather than
Siberia. Australia had low-tech aboriginies until the Europeans came.
A curious aspect of history is how the Vikings evolved from warring
invaders to peaceful social Scandinavian democrats.
The book and study Economic Freedom of the World indicates that policy is
the dominant variable in economic growth; Singapore and Hong Kong rate
high even though they are in the tropics or nearby.
Fred Foldvary
