Christoffer Paik, New York University Abu Dhabi

"Up in the Highlands: The Long Run Economic Outcomes of Ancient Nomadic Migration"

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate how a region's terrain characteristics can uniquely determine transportation infrastructure and the emergence of economic activities in the long run. We focus on the highlands of Asia, a region defined by sparse nomadic population, challenging geography, high cost of mobility, and low agricultural suitability. Our case differs from other studies on transportation infrastructure and long-term development that overlook these specific terrain conditions, and offers an invaluable context yet to be explored in the literature. We first use simulated historical travel routes taken by nomadic pastoralists in the region as a proxy for ancient transportation networks. We then present nightlight intensity, population density, and city locations to study how closely contemporary economic activities are established around these routes. We find that there continue to be direct and strongly positive economic outcomes in the region where the ancient routes existed, suggesting a persistent e ect of ancient infrastructure development on the highland economy.

Joint with Keshar Shahi (NYUAD)

Contact person: Pablo Selaya