To explain cross-country income differences, research has recently focused on the so-called deep determinants of economic development, notably institutions and geography. This paper sheds a different light on these determinants. We use spatial econometrics to analyse the importance of the...

Emerging and developing countries have grown faster than advanced countries since the 2000s. This shifting weight of global economic activity from 'the West'to 'East and South'is referred to as 'shifting wealth'. But in recent years, a number of factors, such as lower commodity prices, seem to...

Why was the Black Death followed by the decline of serfdom in Western Europe but its' intensification in Eastern Europe? What explains why involvement in Atlantic trade in the Early Modern period was positively correlated with economic growth in Britain but negatively correlated in Spain? Why...

Regional differences in prosperity and productivity have recently been rising up the government's priority list as matters requiring serious attention. Wide existing disparities partly explain the government's desire to introduce regional assemblies and to propose that most of these should move...