On Roman roads and the sources of persistence and non-persistence in development

TY - ICOMM

T1 - On Roman roads and the sources of persistence and non-persistence in development

AU - Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars

AU - Kaarsen, Nicolai

AU - Olsson, Ola

AU - Selaya, Pablo

PY - 2018/4/10

Y1 - 2018/4/10

N2 - Although spatial differences in economic development tend to be highly persistent over time, this is not always the case. This column combines novel data on Roman Empire road networks with data on night-time light intensity to explore the persistence and non-persistence of a key proximate source of growth – public goods provision. Several empirical strategies all point to the Roman road network as playing an important role in the persistence of subsequent development.

AB - Although spatial differences in economic development tend to be highly persistent over time, this is not always the case. This column combines novel data on Roman Empire road networks with data on night-time light intensity to explore the persistence and non-persistence of a key proximate source of growth – public goods provision. Several empirical strategies all point to the Roman road network as playing an important role in the persistence of subsequent development.

M3 - Net publication - Internet publication

PB - VOX, CEPR's Policy Portal

ER -