This unique book provides a comprehensive survey of the major economic issues that have helped shape the modern world. It includes discussions of the latest research findings in the international economic development literature and scrutinises some of the most important debates in contemporary...

This paper exploits cross-country variation in the degree of geographical isolation, prior to the advent of sea-faring and airborne transportation technologies, to examine its impact on the course of economic development across the globe. The empirical investigation establishes that prehistoric...

This paper explores the implications of Uni.ed Growth Theory for the origins of existing di¤erences in income per capita across countries. The theory sheds light on three fundamental layers of comparative development. It identi.es the factors that have governed the pace of the transitionfrom...