Introduction to Modern Economic Growth constant, Europeans initiated very significant changes in the economic institutions of different societies.. The impact of European colonialism on e
Trang 1Introduction to Modern Economic Growth constant, Europeans initiated very significant changes in the economic institutions
of different societies
The impact of European colonialism on economic institutions is perhaps most dramatically conveyed by a single fact–historical evidence shows that there has been
a remarkable Reversal of Fortune in economic prosperity within former European colonies Societies like the Mughals in India, and the Aztecs and the Incas in the Americas were among the richest civilizations in 1500, yet the nation-states that now coincide with the boundaries of these empires are among the poorer nations of today
In contrast, countries occupying the territories of the less-developed civilizations of North America, New Zealand and Australia are now much richer than those in the lands of the Mughals, Aztecs and Incas
.
Urbanization in 1995
6 7 8 9 10
AGO
ARG AUS
BDI
BEN
BHS
BLZ
BOL
BRA
BRB
BWA
CAF
CAN
CHL
COL
COM
CPV
CRI
DMA DOM
EGY
ERI
FJI GAB
GHA GIN GMB
GRD GTM GUY
HKG
HND
HTI
IDN
IND
JAM
KEN KNA
LAO
LCA
LKA
LSO
MAR
MDG
MEX
MLI MOZ
MRT MUS
MWI
MYS NAM
NIC
NPL
NZL
PAK
PAN
PER PHL
RWA
SGP
SLE
SWZ
TCD TGO
TTO TUN
TZA UGA
URY USA
VCT
VEN
VNM
ZAF
ZWE
Figure 4.4 Urbanization and Income today
The Reversal of Fortune is not confined to such comparisons To document the reversal more broadly, we need a proxy for prosperity 500 years ago Fortunately, urbanization rates and population density can serve the role of such proxies Only societies with a certain level of productivity in agriculture and a relatively devel-oped system of transport and commerce can sustain large urban centers and a dense
184