Geography, Depreciation, and Growth

Geography, Depreciation, and Growth

Any visit to the seashore will confirm that it is more difficult to build a large sandcastle if one locates the project too near the lapping waves of the ocean. The sandcastle may grow well initially, but eventually a rouge wave washes out some portion of the progress. It may be possible for the sandcastle to grow on net, so long as investment in building outpaces losses to the waves, but it mu...

Geography and Economic Growth

This paper addresses the complex relationship between geography and macroeconomic growth. It investigates the ways in which geography may matter directly for growth, controlling for economic policies and institutions, as well as the effects of geography on policy choices and institutions. It finds that location and climate have large effects on income levels and income growth through their effe...

Africa: Geography and Growth

Currently, many African economies are growing more rapidly than they have for three decades. This is partly the result of high prices for commodity exports but also reflects deeper changes. The last time Africa enjoyed a commodity boom was in the mid-1970s. It was followed by a decade of unparalleled economic disaster. It is vital that Africa’s current opportunities for growth are not dissipate...

Urbanization , Economic Geography , and Growth ∗ †

Transport Investment, Geography, and Growth

A substantial part of the economic growth literature suggests that historically, geographic features such as decreasing trade costs have improved not only output but also growth. However, this literature lacks an analytical motivation for lower trade barriers, and assumes their decrease to obtain exogenously and at no cost. This paper attempts to address the issue by investigating how endogenou...