What became the post-War era's "less developed countries" (LDCs) varied enormously in their pre- modern or pre-industrial economic conditions. We hypothesize that if these countries are arrayed on a continuum of pre-industrial development such as that of the demographer Ester Boserup, countries...

This study aims to assess to what extent the institutional environment is responsible for worldwide differences in economic development. To answer this question, a new concept of the institutions-augmented Solow model is constructed. The analysis covers 153 countries and the period 1994-2009....