TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ashraf,Quamrul
AU  - Galor,Oded
TI  - Dynamics and Stagnation in the Malthusian Epoch
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 17037
PY  - 2011
Y2  - May 2011
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17037
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17037.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Quamrul Ashraf
Williams College
Department of Economics
24 Hopkins Hall Drive
Williamstown, MA 01267
Tel: (413) 597-3051
Fax: (413) 597-4045
E-Mail: Quamrul.H.Ashraf@williams.edu

Oded Galor
Department of Economics
Brown University
Box B
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401/863-2117
Fax: 401/863-1970
E-Mail: oded_galor@brown.edu
AB  - This paper examines the central hypothesis of the influential Malthusian theory, according to which improvements in the technological environment during the pre-industrial era had generated only temporary gains in income per capita, eventually leading to a larger, but not significantly richer, population. Exploiting exogenous sources of cross-country variations in land productivity and the level of technological advancement the analysis demonstrates that, in accordance with the theory, technological superiority and higher land productivity had significant positive effects on population density but insignificant effects on the standard of living, during the time period 1-1500 CE.
ER  -