Economic Development in the Americas since 1500

Endowments and Institutions

Stanley L Engerman author Kenneth L Sokoloff author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:14th Nov '11

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Economic Development in the Americas since 1500 cover

Examines differences in the rates of economic growth in Latin America and mainland North America since the seventeenth century.

These essays deal with differences in the rates of economic growth in Latin American and mainland North America, specifically the United States and Canada. It demonstrates how relative differences in growth over time are related to differences in the institutions that developed in different economies.This book brings together a number of previously published articles by Stanley L. Engerman and Kenneth L. Sokoloff. Its essays deal with differences in the rates of economic growth in Latin American and mainland North America, specifically the United States and Canada. It demonstrates how relative differences in growth over time are related to differences in the institutions that developed in different economies. This variation is driven by differences in major institutions – suffrage, education, tax policy, land and immigration policy, and banking and financial organizations. These factors, in turn, are all related to differences in endowments, climate and natural resources. Providing a comprehensive treatment of its topic, the essays have been revised to reflect new developments and research.

'This volume is both a magisterial and a profound reassessment of the role of institutions in the social, political, and economic evolution of the Americas from Columbian contact to the present. There is nothing in the literature that approaches the range and detail of the cross-country comparisons across the Americas offered by Engerman and Sokoloff and their coauthors. The broad conclusions have enormous implications for understanding the development paths of societies everywhere.' David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History, Emory University
'On the big question of why some countries are rich and others poor, I find myself coming back again and again to the argument at the heart of this book. Although Engerman and Sokoloff formulate it in simple terms, it is anything but simple. On the contrary, it opens up a wealth of deep ideas about the mechanisms elites use to sustain themselves in power and how these mechanisms then inhibit economic development.' Naomi R. Lamoreaux, Yale University
'The work of Engerman and Sokoloff is foundational to the literature on colonialism, institutions, and economic development and anyone interested in development or new institutional economics will need to read this book.' Tomas Nonnenmacher, EH.net

ISBN: 9780521251372

Dimensions: 228mm x 152mm x 20mm

Weight: 610g

444 pages