4 ms·
The standards of living were growing before democratization. For example, the colonies that would become the US had richer inhabitants even before the split[1].
by blfr 12y ago
The standards of living were growing before democratization. For example, the colonies that would become the US had richer inhabitants even before the split[1]. In Europe, this growth could have well been delayed by revolutions, not hastened.
[1] http://www.nber.org/papers/w19861 http://www.nber.org/papers/w19861
- douche 12y agoI'm sure the widespread death and destruction and disruption of trade caused by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars were a significant brake on the improvement of standards of living.
- eli_gottlieb 12y agoThe colonies that would become the US had more land-per-person in a late-agrarian, almost-early-industrial economy, versus Europe having far less land-per-(white)-person.