Agriculture, transportation and the timing of urbanization: Global analysis at the grid cell level

@article{Motamed2014AgricultureTA,
  title={Agriculture, transportation and the timing of urbanization: Global analysis at the grid cell level},
  author={Mesbah Motamed and Raymond J. G. M. Florax and William A. Masters},
  journal={Journal of Economic Growth},
  year={2014},
  volume={19},
  pages={339-368}
}
This paper addresses the timing of a location’s historical transition from rural to urban activity. We test whether urbanization occurs sooner in places with higher agricultural potential and comparatively lower transport costs, using worldwide data that divide the earth’s surface at half-degree intervals into 62,290 cells. From an independent estimate of each cell’s rural and urban population history over the last 2,000 years, we identify the date at which each cell achieves various thresholds… Expand
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This paper addresses the timing of a location's historical transition from rural to urban activity. We test whether urbanization occurs sooner in places with higher agricultural potential and… Expand
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