| Popis: |
This chapter provides a reinterpretation of the positive correlation between the time since the Neolithic transition and per-capita income before the economic and demographic transitions. It shows that in a simple Malthusian model, the differences in development might be amplified by territorial competition between societies or an upper bound on the rate of population growth, suggesting that superstructures, such as empires, and behavioral norms might have played a decisive role during this phase of development. The chapter argues, however, that while a useful theoretical insight, this simple extension of the Malthusian model is not itself sufficient to account quantitatively for the observed variation in both per-capita incomes and population densities. |
