The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor

Emilio Depetris-Chauvin and Ömer Özak

No 1610, Departmental Working Papers from Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This research explores the historical roots and persistent effects of the division of labor in pre-modern societies. Exploiting a novel ethnic-level dataset, which combines geocoded ethnographic, linguistic and genetic data, it advances the hypothesis and establishes empirically that population diversity had a positive effect on the division of labor, which translated into persistent differences in economic development. Specifically, it establishes that pre-modern economic specialization was conducive to pre-modern statehood, urbanization and social hierarchy. Moreover, it demonstrates that higher levels of pre-modern economic specialization are associated with greater skill-biased occupational heterogeneity, economic complexity and economic development in the contemporary era.

Keywords: Economic Specialization; Division of Labor; Trade; Comparative Development; Economic Development; Human Capital; Skill-Bias; Population Diversity; Genetic Diversity; Linguistic Diversity; Cultural Diversity; Persistence; Serial Founder Effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 F10 F14 J24 N10 O10 O11 O12 O40 O43 O44 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-gro, nep-his and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor (2017)
Working Paper: The Origins and Long-Run Consequences of the Division of Labor (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:smu:ecowpa:1610

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