Na investigacao sobre os principais determinantes do desenvolvimento economico, a literatura corrente tem dado enfase a geografia e instituicoes. Mas as raizes do desenvolvimento podem estar relacionadas com historia, como argumentam Enrico Spolaore e Romain Wacziarg. O abstract de seu interessantissimo artigo segue:"The empirical literature on economic growth and development has moved from the study of proximate determinants to the analysis of ever deeper, more fundamental factors, rooted in long-term history. A growing body of new empirical work focuses on the measurement and estimation of the effects of historical variables on contemporary income by explicitly taking into account the ancestral composition of current populations. The evidence suggests that economic development is affected by traits that have been transmitted across generations over the very long run. This article surveys this new literature and provides a framework to discuss different channels through which intergenerationally transmitted characteristics may impact economicdevelopment, biologically (via genetic or epigenetic transmission) and culturally (via behavioral or symbolic transmission). An important issue is whether historically transmitted traits have affected development through their direct impact on productivity, or have operated indirectly as barriers to the diffusion of productivity-enhancing innovations across populations." De acordo com a BBC News, Asia:"The Korea Customs Service said it had found almost 17,500 of the capsules being smuggled into the country from China since August 2011. The powdered flesh, which officials said came from dead babies and foetuses, is reportedly thought by some to cure disease and boost stamina. But officials said the capsules were full of bacteria and a health risk." Interessante artigo que argumenta que a origem do estado esta relacionada ao surgimento da agricultura, que torna a atividade economica mais visivel (e expropriavel). Embora este argumento nao seja novo, vale a pena ler o artigo pela boa mistura de teoria e historia economica."We propose a general theory that explains the extent of the state and accounts for related institutions as byproducts of the states extractive capacity. We posit further that this capacity is determined by the transparency of the production technology. First, we apply our proposed theory in identifying the link between the Neolithic Revolution and the emergence of the state. We argue that the common explanation that emphasizes the availability of food surplus is flawed, for it ignores Malthusian considerations. In contrast, we suggest that what led to the emergence of the state was the greater transparency of farming. Second, we show that variations across regions in the transparency of the production processes can explain differences in institutions, such as land tenure, and in the scale of the state. We then apply our theory to explain the institutional features that distinguished ancient Egypt from ancient Mesopotamia." Existem coisas que o dinheiro nao pode comprar. Especialmente quando a propriedade privada e abolida.Membros da Vanguarda acumulam o dobro de pontos.Aproveite os beneficios do determinismo historico: credito pre-aprovado, taxas de juros pre-determinadas e parcelamento automatico.Programa especial "Participacao e Solidariedade" de ajuda internacional: Doando pontos, voce ajuda a dar sobrevida aos regimes comunistas de Cuba e Coreia do Norte. Com o cartao de credito Karl Marx, nunca foi