《The #39;Out of Africa#39; Hypothesis》.pdf
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American Economic Review 2013, 103 (1): 1–46
/10.1257/a er.103.1.1
The “Out of Africa” Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity,
and Comparative Economic Development†
By Quamrul Ashraf and Oded Galor*
This research advances and empirically establishes the hypothesis
that, in the course of the prehistoric exodus of Homo sapiens out of
Africa , variation in migratory distance to various settlements across
the globe affected genetic diversity and has had a persistent hump-
shaped effect on comparative economic development, reflecting the
trade-off between the beneficial and the detrimental effects of diversity
on productivity. While the low diversity of Native American popula-
tions and the high diversity of African populations have been detri-
mental for the development of these regions, the intermediate levels of
diversity associated with European and Asian populations have been
conducive for development. (JEL N10, N30, N50, O10, O50, Z10)
Prevailing hypotheses of comparative economic development highlight various
determinants of the remarkable inequality in income per capita across the globe. The
significance of geographical, institutional, and cultural factors, human capital, eth-
nolinguistic fractionalization, colonialism, and globalization has been at the heart of
a debate concerning the genesis of the astounding transformation in the pattern of
comparative development over the past few centuries. While early research focused
on the proximate forces that contributed to the divergence in
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