Abstract
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 positioned
closer to the “modern” end of that continuum will be found to have achieved
more rapid post-War growth, due to more favorable pre-conditions.
A cross-country data analysis supports this hypothesis. This suggests
to us the importance of societies’ stocks of human capital, conceived of
more broadly than is measurable on the basis of formal education only.
Keywords: Economic growth, development, evolution, pre-modern development,
anthropology, Africa, Asia, Boserup.
JEL numbers: O10 (Economic Development, General), O57 (Comparative Studies
of Countries), O29 (Development Planning and Policy, Other).
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