Tropics, Germs, and Crops: How Endowments Influence Economic Development

@article{Easterly2002TropicsGA,
  title={Tropics, Germs, and Crops: How Endowments Influence Economic Development},
  author={William Easterly and Ross Levine},
  journal={Development Economics},
  year={2002}
}
Does economic development depend on geographic endowments like temperate instead of tropical location, the ecological conditions shaping diseases, or an environment good for grains or certain cash crops? Or do these endowments of tropics, germs, and crops affect economic development only through institutions or policies? We test the endowment, institution, and policy views against each other using cross country evidence. We find evidence that tropics, germs, and crops affect development through… 
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