Kevinmccarthy25

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Geography

Farming + Animals=Food surplus=Artisans=metals + Same latitude=easy spread of crops

Farming- based on plants and soil and what crops you could grow. Middle east could grow wheat and barely which had protein.

Animals-could help pull plows, fertilizer, any extra work, eat them Needed to grow up in 1-2 years. Social with a hierarchy. Not afraid of humans.

Metal- Needed people who farmed to have surplus so it could be produced. Needed the resource in the ground.

Latitude- helped them to spread crops and techniques easier, easy to spread animals and people and build communities. Writing, disease, new ideas, animals, and knowledge capital were spread easier East to West than North to South. This is due to the same latitudes having the same or similar climates, and the same or similar crop growth.

Writing-Developed and spread across Eurasia starting with the growth of cuneiform in the middle east. All European writing is based off of this

Disease- Grew in Eurasia due to the close living quarters with livestock animals that were easily domesticated. Natives in the Americas did not have these animals, only llamas which could not be milked, don’t live in herds, and don’t live in close proximity to humans.

New Summary

In the Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs, and Steel (1999), author Jared Diamond points to geography as the answer to why certain states were able to grow and develop faster and stronger than others instead of popular theories of racial or cultural superiority.

Diamond argues that early states located along the same latitude lines were uniquely suited to take advantage of similar climates, making it easier for crops, livestock, and farming techniques to spread. States that were located in areas suited for crops that were simple to grow and easy to harvest, led to high population densities and the growth of early cities. The ability to domesticate certain herd animals such as cattle and horses that had no natural fear of humans, high birth rates, and a hierarchy within themselves gave some civilizations the advantage of free labor, fertilizers, and war animals. However,the close proximity in which humans and their animals lived led to the spread of disease across Eurasia over several centuries which decimated populations but ultimately led to disease resistant communities.

Diamond credits the ease of transportation of knowledge capital across East-West latitudes

In the Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs, and Steel (1999), author Jared Diamond points to geography as the answer to why certain states were able to grow and develop faster and stronger than others. His theory cited the natural environment and raw materials a civilization was blessed with as factors for success, instead of popular century old claims of racial and cultural superiority. Diamond says that these natural endowments began with the dawn of man, and favored Eurasian civilizations due to their location along similar latitudes, suitable farming climate, and early animal domestication.

Diamond argues that early states located along the same latitude lines were uniquely suited to take advantage of similar climates, making it easier for crops, livestock, and farming techniques to spread. States located in areas suited for crops such as wheat and barely that were simple to grow and easy to harvest, led to high population densities and the growth of early cities. The ability to domesticate herd animals that had no natural fear of humans, high birth rates, and a hierarchy within themselves gave some civilizations the advantage of free labor, fertilizers, and war animals. The East-West orientation of Eurasia allowed for knowledge capital to spread quickly, as writing systems to keep track of advanced farming techniques gave people the ability to store and build upon a knowledge base across generations. Crafts grew as a surplus of food from farming allowed some groups the freedom to explore and create, leading to the development of metallurgy and advances in technology. While the advantageous geography helped to cultivate early states, the close proximity in which humans and their animals lived led to the spread of disease across Eurasia over several centuries which decimated populations, but ultimately led to disease resistant communities.

Diamond uses the Spanish conquistador's conquering of the Americas as a case study for his theory. He argues that the European's took advantage of their environment to build large and complex states complete with the best technology and weapons. The Incans and other native groups were not as blessed, suffering from a North-South orientation that prevented the flow of goods and knowledge across the continent. The Americas also lacked the animals, metals, and writing complex writing systems of Eurasia due to their hidden

Diamond credits the ease of transportation of knowledge capital across East-West latitudes.

Engerman and Sokoloff Economic Development in the Americas Since 1500

Intro: -In 1790 Haiti held the most per capita GDP, and countries like Cuba and Barbados were extremely successful in terms of per capita GDP. This held up until industrialization in the North Americas. -WHY? Religion, economic factors, INDOWMENTS are the answer and focus of this paper -ANSWER: Are INSTITUTIONS exogenous or endogenous? Borrow from natives or from colonizers themselves. 3 Types of Institutions (13): 1. Political and legal arrangements in which rules are made 2. Economic, those that are voluntary which influence the nature of the market 3. Cultural, religious values and beliefs which influence economic behavior

Growth Differentials (14): -Why did some colonies grow more than others? Why were the English more successful than the French? Why do some institutions work and others not. North- British institutions more successful then those in Spain -But being a British colony in itself was no guarantee so this cannot be the reason.

• • • FACTOR ENDOWMENTS (16)

Because of this differential political scientists have decided that FACTOR ENDOWMENTS may have had the greatest effect on the growth of certain colonies. Crops Grown in Colony Example: Numbers of Black slaves in Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti etc. -Because some of these colonies were so successful in farming sugar from plantations they were able to congregate wealth and power at the top of the society. This lead to a high GDP per capita but kept the poor extremely poor and made it difficult to modernize. -led to institutions which protected the wealth of the rich even after slavery was abolished Mines -The Spanish designed their early colonies around mineral exports in South America which stripped these regions of resources which resulted in concentration of land and power at the top. Lasted post slavery as well. Therefore Spanish colonies distributed wealth, power, land, and resources very unequally in a way that was vastly different then the bulk of the population.

• • • INITIAL FRAMEWORKS and INEQUALITY (21)

-In societies that began with extreme inequality the elites used this to greater influence and establish rules, laws, and other government policies that advantaged members of the elite class and led to the persistence of inequality in that society. -Conversely, in societies where greater equality or homogeneity was first established efforts by elites to institutionalize an unequal distribution of political power were relatively unsuccessful, and thus lead to more equal opportunities for members of each population. Crops -Small Holder economy --The US and Canada produced GRAINS which encouraged small plots of land owned by individuals and prevented the concentration of power by the elites at the top Voting Rights -The United States and Canada were leaders in voting rights as well, something that did not continue on into other countries who adopted it later. The U.S. was also successful in achieving ballot secrecy, while simultaneously ending any attempts to conserve wealth or elite status distribution in voting. SUFFRAGE DOES NOT COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THESE DIFFERENCES HOWEVER but may have still lead to lasting differences in equality Schools (26 bottom) -schools were widespread in the North and especially the U.S. -by 1800 the U.S. likely had the most literate White population in the world due to community funded schools and educational facilities -Other colonies were much slower in this capacity such as Argentina, Uruguay, and Costa Rica which were also areas of high European communities which lagged about 75 years behind the United States. -Schools were not as well funded in South America where major investments in local schools were slow to matriculate and local areas did not appreciate funding their own schools. It was only until the federal government stepped in that education became a major part of society -As a consequence these societies did not achieve high rates of literacy until significantly later than their Northern brethren.

Conclusions (29) The early differences in inequality across New World economies continued over time and was likely extended by the creation of various institutions which gave opportunities to some and not to others -Land ownership and access to schools also impacted this effort and made it harder to achieve equality. -Greater power that was centralized around elites seems to have had a largely negative impact upon society by congregating power and disallowing the poor or the masses to advance. -It seems a huge proportion of this is due to a lack of competition allowed in development

“Although one could imagine that extreme inequality could take generations to dissipate in even a free and even-handed society, such biases in the paths of institutional development likely go far in explaining the persistence of inequality over the long run in Latin America and elsewhere in the New World” (30).

Rugggedness and the Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa

Abstract -Geography matters due to its “contemporaneous effect on economic outcomes” and interaction with historical events. -Attempt to use ruggedness as a variable to analyze geography’s importance on a societies success or demise. -In Africa ruggedness was helpful as it prevented the slave trade from reaching certain areas, but was also detrimental as it prevented trade. -The authors found that both effects are statistically significant and the net positive outweighs the net negative of slavery -Slave trade is the independent effect

Direct Contemporanious Channel SACHS “Some authors stress a direct contemporaneous channel whereby geography directly affects economic outcomes today. For instance, Gallup and Sachs (2001) and Sachs and Malaney (2002) claim that a disease-prone environment has substantial negative consequences for current income levels because it reduces productivity, lowers the incentives to invest in human capital, draws scarce resources towards medical care, and discourages foreign investment and tourism (Nunn and Puga 2)

Others: Kamarack (1976), Sachs Melligner and Gallup (2000), Sachs (2001), Rappaport and Sachs (2003)

Indirect Historical Interactions ACEMOGLUE, JOHNSON, and ROBINSON “Alternatively, other authors stress an indirect channel whereby geography indirectly affects economic outcomes today through its past interactions with key historical events. For instance, Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001) argue that the importance of a disease-prone environment for current income levels lies in the effect that it had on potential settler mortality during colonization. In areas were high mortality discouraged Europeans from settling, colonizers implemented poor institutions which adversely affected subsequent economic development” (Nunn and Puga 2).

Others: Engerman and Sokoloff (1997,2000,2002), Diamond (1997), Acemoglue, J and R (2002)

-Paper looks to examine paradox of why bad geography worked in Africa

2. -they use the “terrain ruggedness index” devised by Riley, DeGloraia, and Elliot (1999) to quantify topographic heterogeneity that may have been advantageous in the Geographical Survey 1996 to conduct their research

3. -for the economic variable on geography, the indirect is as least as large as the contemporaneous option -controls were set up for availability of diamonds and soil fertility so that these two variables would not effect the data -Also controlled for disease and distance to the coast

NOTE: Rappaport and Sachs (2003) Coast access is fundamental determinant for income differences

Conclusion -Has some real good stuff about the past and future effects

Tsetse Fly

Contemporaneous: “The findings suggest that TseTse-associated disease continues to influence development, mainly through its effect on precolonial centralization; thus providing support for the Sokoloff and Engerman (2000) view that endowments may shape institutions and thereby have long-run effects”

Historical “On the other hand, the distribution of cattle exhibits a negative correlation with the TSI, conditional on country fixed effects and local, historical institutions”

One unique facet of African early state formation that may have helped drive society’s ability to form centralized institutions, develop advanced technologies, and acquire an agricultural network was the availability of livestock animals. As a European farmer put it in 1795 without livestock there is, “No dung—no turnips—no bullocks—no barley—no clover nor…wheat” (Overton 1996, p. 1). However, in many parts of Africa the TseTse fly limited the ability of early peoples to breed livestock to create agricultural surplus’, work the land, or eat as meat. This development was hampered by the TseTse fly and the virus it carried which used the immune African herd animals to fester until it was transported via it’s insect vector into the bloodstream of a cow or horse where it was lethal.

In a study by Marcella Alsan, insect population growth models and physiological data were used in conjunction with ethnographic data on pre-colonial African agricultural practices, institutions, and urbanization to study the effects of the fly. The results demonstrated a significant impact on pre-colonial Africa: “: a one standard deviation increase in the TSI is associated with a 23 percentage point decrease in the likelihood an African ethnic group had large domesticated animals, a 9 percentage point decrease in intensive cultivation, and a 6 percentage point reduction in plow use” (PAGE #).

Ruggedness Revised

Usually rugged terrain makes farming difficult, prevents travel, and limits societal growth, however in "Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad geography in Africa" authors Nathan Nunn and Diego Puga demonstrated how some early African states took advantage of their harsh terrain. In study the authors used a terrain ruggedness index to quantify topographic heterogeneity across several regions of Africa, while simultaneously controlling for variables such as diamond availability and soil fertility. The case results suggested that ruggedness is historically strongly correlated with decreased income levels across the globe, and negatively impacted state growth over time. They noted that a harsh terrain limited the flow of trade goods, crop availability, and isolated communities from knowledge capital. However, the study also demonstrated that the terrain had additional effects on some African communities by protecting them from the slave trade.

This study illustrates a schism in the environmental determinism theory between those who believe the environment directly effects economic outcomes today, and those who believe it is an indirect effect through a historical channel of past interactions and key events. Supporters of the direct model such as