Preliminary and incomplete Crops, Germs, and Whites: Exploring Historical Determinants of the Kuznets Curve and Causality from Inequality to Development

This paper suggests a simple explanation for the cross-section Kuznets curve: endowments of crops and germs that resulted in a permanent European minority settlement are associated with high inequality and intermediate income. Where there was no European settlement, both inequality and income were low. Where Europeans came to constitute the overwhelming majority of the population, income was high but inequality was again low. The paper thus suggests that the variation in European settlement (which is correlated with income) provides an explanation for the cross-section Kuznets curve. European settlement is predicted well by crop endowments of different regions, mortality among the indigenous population, and mortality facing European settlers. Using crops and germs as instruments, the paper provides