On Roman roads and the sources of persistence and non-persistence in development

Research output: Other contributionNet publication - Internet publicationCommunication

Although spatial differences in economic development tend to be highly persistent over time, this is not always the case. This column combines novel data on Roman Empire road networks with data on night-time light intensity to explore the persistence and non-persistence of a key proximate source of growth – public goods provision. Several empirical strategies all point to the Roman road network as playing an important role in the persistence of subsequent development.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date10 Apr 2018
PublisherVOX, CEPR's Policy Portal
Publication statusPublished - 10 Apr 2018

ID: 195128192