List of regions by past GDP (PPP) per capita: Difference between revisions
Teeninvestor (talk | contribs) Adding precise estimates for bairoch. |
Teeninvestor (talk | contribs) Revert me if this is wrong, but im trying to make a chart of Bairoch's estimates based on the data we know. |
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In the absence of sufficient data for nearly all economies until well into the 19th century, past GDP per capita cannot be calculated, but only roughly estimated. A key notion in the whole process is that of [[subsistence]], the [[income]] level which is necessary for sustaining one's life. Since [[pre-modern societies]], by modern standards, were characterized by a very low degree of [[urbanization]] and a large majority of people working in the [[agricultural sector]], economic historians prefer to express income in [[cereal]] units. To achieve comparability over space and time, these numbers are then converted into monetary units such as International Dollars, a step which leaves a relatively wide margin of interpretation. |
In the absence of sufficient data for nearly all economies until well into the 19th century, past GDP per capita cannot be calculated, but only roughly estimated. A key notion in the whole process is that of [[subsistence]], the [[income]] level which is necessary for sustaining one's life. Since [[pre-modern societies]], by modern standards, were characterized by a very low degree of [[urbanization]] and a large majority of people working in the [[agricultural sector]], economic historians prefer to express income in [[cereal]] units. To achieve comparability over space and time, these numbers are then converted into monetary units such as International Dollars, a step which leaves a relatively wide margin of interpretation. |
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== |
==World== |
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===Maddison 1-2003=== |
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The following estimates are taken exclusively from the 2007 monograph ''Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD'' by the British economist [[Angus Maddison]].<ref>Maddison 2007, p. 382, table A.7.</ref> For his separate estimate of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] GDP (PPP) per capita and that of other authors, [[#Roman and Byzantine Empires|see below]]. |
The following estimates are taken exclusively from the 2007 monograph ''Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD'' by the British economist [[Angus Maddison]].<ref>Maddison 2007, p. 382, table A.7.</ref> For his separate estimate of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] GDP (PPP) per capita and that of other authors, [[#Roman and Byzantine Empires|see below]]. |
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Some scholars such as Pomeranz and Hobson have disputed these figures, holding that Asian GDP per capita, especially that of China, exceeded and at least equalled that of the west until 1800. The late economic historian Paul Bairoch put China's GDP per capita at 282 in US 1960 dollars in 1800, compared with 240 for Britain.<ref> Branco (2003), 680</ref><ref> Pomeranz (2000), 36</ref><ref> Hobson (2005), 77</ref> However, this claim has been contested by several authors who hold that European GDP per capita had already embarked on a distinctly higher trajectory by the 1500s.<ref>Broadberry, Stephen; Gupta, Bishnupriya: "The Early Modern Great Divergence: Wages, Prices and Economic Development in Europe and Asia, 1500–1800", ''Economic History Review'', Vol. 59, No. 1 (2006), pp. 2–31 (2)</ref><ref>Brenner, Robert; Isett, Christopher: "England's Divergence from China's Yangzi Delta: Property Relations, Microeconomics, and Patterns of Development", ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 61, No. 2 (2002), pp. 609–662 (650f.)</ref><ref>Duchesne, Ricardo: "On the Rise of the West: Researching Kenneth Pomeranz’s Great Divergence", ''Review of Radical Political Economics'', Vol. 36, No. 1 (2004), pp. 52–81 (52)</ref> These findings are consistent with the long-standing standard view most popularly expressed by [[William Hardy McNeill|William McNeill]] in his ''[[The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community|The Rise of the West]]'' and recently reinstated by [[David Landes]]' ''[[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations]]''.<ref>Landes, David S.: ''The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor'', W W Norton & Company, New York 1998, ISBN 0-393-04017-8, pp. 29–44</ref> |
Some scholars such as Pomeranz and Hobson have disputed these figures, holding that Asian GDP per capita, especially that of China, exceeded and at least equalled that of the west until 1800. The late economic historian Paul Bairoch put China's GDP per capita at 282 in US 1960 dollars in 1800, compared with 240 for Britain.<ref> Branco (2003), 680</ref><ref> Pomeranz (2000), 36</ref><ref> Hobson (2005), 77</ref> However, this claim has been contested by several authors who hold that European GDP per capita had already embarked on a distinctly higher trajectory by the 1500s.<ref>Broadberry, Stephen; Gupta, Bishnupriya: "The Early Modern Great Divergence: Wages, Prices and Economic Development in Europe and Asia, 1500–1800", ''Economic History Review'', Vol. 59, No. 1 (2006), pp. 2–31 (2)</ref><ref>Brenner, Robert; Isett, Christopher: "England's Divergence from China's Yangzi Delta: Property Relations, Microeconomics, and Patterns of Development", ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 61, No. 2 (2002), pp. 609–662 (650f.)</ref><ref>Duchesne, Ricardo: "On the Rise of the West: Researching Kenneth Pomeranz’s Great Divergence", ''Review of Radical Political Economics'', Vol. 36, No. 1 (2004), pp. 52–81 (52)</ref> These findings are consistent with the long-standing standard view most popularly expressed by [[William Hardy McNeill|William McNeill]] in his ''[[The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community|The Rise of the West]]'' and recently reinstated by [[David Landes]]' ''[[The Wealth and Poverty of Nations]]''.<ref>Landes, David S.: ''The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor'', W W Norton & Company, New York 1998, ISBN 0-393-04017-8, pp. 29–44</ref> |
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===Bairoch 1800=== |
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The following estimates of GDP per capita incomes from 1800 onwards for various regions come from the late economic historian [[Paul Bairoch]]. Below are his estimates, in 1960 US dollars: |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right; margin:1px; border:1px solid #cccccc; " |
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|----- align="right" valign="top" bgcolor="cccccc" |
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|+ GDP (PPP) per capita in 1960 US dollars |
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! Country / Region |
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! 1800 |
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| China |
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| 282 |
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| Britain |
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| 240 |
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| India |
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| "10 to 30 percent below British GDP per capita" |
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|- |
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|} |
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== Europe == |
== Europe == |
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=== Western Europe 1–1870 (Lo Cascio/Malanima) === |
=== Western Europe 1–1870 (Lo Cascio/Malanima) === |
Revision as of 02:39, 24 July 2010
These are lists of regions and countries by their estimated real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), the value of all final goods and services produced within a country/region in a given year divided by population size. GDP per capita dollar (international dollar) estimates here are derived from PPP estimates.
In the absence of sufficient data for nearly all economies until well into the 19th century, past GDP per capita cannot be calculated, but only roughly estimated. A key notion in the whole process is that of subsistence, the income level which is necessary for sustaining one's life. Since pre-modern societies, by modern standards, were characterized by a very low degree of urbanization and a large majority of people working in the agricultural sector, economic historians prefer to express income in cereal units. To achieve comparability over space and time, these numbers are then converted into monetary units such as International Dollars, a step which leaves a relatively wide margin of interpretation.
World
Maddison 1-2003
The following estimates are taken exclusively from the 2007 monograph Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD by the British economist Angus Maddison.[1] For his separate estimate of Roman GDP (PPP) per capita and that of other authors, see below.
Country / Region | 1 | 1000 | 1500 | 1600 | 1700 | 1820 | 1870 | 1913 | 1950 | 1973 | 2003 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | 425 | 425 | 707 | 837 | 993 | 1,218 | 1,863 | 3,465 | 3,706 | 11,235 | 21,231 |
Belgium | 450 | 425 | 875 | 976 | 1,144 | 1,319 | 2,692 | 4,220 | 5,462 | 12,170 | 21,205 |
Denmark | 400 | 400 | 738 | 875 | 1,039 | 1,274 | 2,003 | 3,912 | 6,943 | 13,945 | 23,133 |
Finland | 400 | 400 | 453 | 538 | 638 | 781 | 1,140 | 2,111 | 4,253 | 11,085 | 20,513 |
France | 473 | 425 | 727 | 841 | 910 | 1,135 | 1,876 | 3,485 | 5,271 | 13,114 | 21,861 |
Germany | 408 | 410 | 688 | 791 | 910 | 1,077 | 1,839 | 3,648 | 3,881 | 11,966 | 19,144 |
Italy | 809 | 450 | 1,100 | 1,100 | 1,100 | 1,117 | 1,499 | 2,564 | 3,502 | 10,634 | 19,151 |
Netherlands | 425 | 425 | 761 | 1,381 | 2,130 | 1,838 | 2,757 | 4,049 | 5,996 | 13,082 | 21,480 |
Norway | 400 | 400 | 610 | 664 | 723 | 801 | 1,360 | 2,447 | 5,430 | 11,323 | 26,035 |
Sweden | 400 | 400 | 695 | 824 | 977 | 1,198 | 1,662 | 3,096 | 6,739 | 13,493 | 21,555 |
Switzerland | 425 | 410 | 632 | 750 | 890 | 1,090 | 2,102 | 4,266 | 9,064 | 18,204 | 22,243 |
UK | 400 | 400 | 714 | 974 | 1,250 | 1,706 | 3,190 | 4,921 | 6,939 | 12,025 | 21,310 |
12 country average | 599 | 425 | 798 | 907 | 1,032 | 1,243 | 2,087 | 3,688 | 5,018 | 12,157 | 20,597 |
Portugal | 450 | 425 | 606 | 740 | 819 | 923 | 975 | 1,250 | 2,086 | 7,063 | 13,807 |
Spain | 498 | 450 | 661 | 853 | 853 | 1,008 | 1,207 | 2,056 | 2,189 | 7,661 | 17,021 |
Other | 539 | 400 | 472 | 525 | 584 | 711 | 1,027 | 1,840 | 2,538 | 7,614 | 17,351 |
West European average | 576 | 427 | 771 | 889 | 997 | 1,202 | 1,960 | 3,457 | 4,578 | 11,417 | 19,912 |
Eastern Europe | 412 | 400 | 496 | 548 | 606 | 683 | 937 | 1,695 | 2,111 | 4,988 | 6,476 |
Former USSR | 400 | 400 | 499 | 552 | 610 | 688 | 943 | 1,488 | 2,841 | 6,059 | 5,397 |
USA | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 527 | 1,257 | 2,445 | 5,301 | 9,561 | 16,689 | 29,037 |
Other Western offshoots | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 408 | 761 | 2,244 | 4,752 | 7,425 | 13,399 | 22,853 |
Average Western offshoots | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 476 | 1,202 | 2,419 | 5,233 | 9,268 | 16,179 | 28,039 |
Mexico | 400 | 400 | 425 | 454 | 568 | 759 | 674 | 1,732 | 2,365 | 4,853 | 7,137 |
Other Latin America | 400 | 400 | 410 | 431 | 502 | 661 | 677 | 1,438 | 2,531 | 4,435 | 5,465 |
Latin American average | 400 | 400 | 416 | 438 | 527 | 691 | 676 | 1,493 | 2,503 | 4,513 | 5,786 |
Japan | 400 | 425 | 500 | 520 | 570 | 669 | 737 | 1,387 | 1,921 | 11,434 | 21,218 |
China | 450 | 450 | 600 | 600 | 600 | 600 | 530 | 552 | 448 | 838 | 4,803 |
India | 450 | 450 | 550 | 550 | 550 | 533 | 533 | 673 | 619 | 853 | 2,160 |
Other east Asia | 425 | 425 | 554 | 564 | 561 | 568 | 594 | 842 | 771 | 1,485 | 3,854 |
West Asia | 522 | 621 | 590 | 591 | 591 | 607 | 742 | 1,042 | 1,776 | 4,854 | 5,899 |
Asian average (excl. Japan) | 457 | 466 | 572 | 576 | 572 | 577 | 548 | 658 | 639 | 1,225 | 3,842 |
Africa | 472 | 425 | 414 | 422 | 421 | 420 | 500 | 637 | 890 | 1,410 | 1,549 |
World | 467 | 450 | 566 | 596 | 616 | 667 | 873 | 1,526 | 2,113 | 4,091 | 6,516 |
Criticism
Some scholars such as Pomeranz and Hobson have disputed these figures, holding that Asian GDP per capita, especially that of China, exceeded and at least equalled that of the west until 1800. The late economic historian Paul Bairoch put China's GDP per capita at 282 in US 1960 dollars in 1800, compared with 240 for Britain.[2][3][4] However, this claim has been contested by several authors who hold that European GDP per capita had already embarked on a distinctly higher trajectory by the 1500s.[5][6][7] These findings are consistent with the long-standing standard view most popularly expressed by William McNeill in his The Rise of the West and recently reinstated by David Landes' The Wealth and Poverty of Nations.[8]
Bairoch 1800
The following estimates of GDP per capita incomes from 1800 onwards for various regions come from the late economic historian Paul Bairoch. Below are his estimates, in 1960 US dollars:
Country / Region | 1800 | China | 282 | Britain | 240 | India | "10 to 30 percent below British GDP per capita" |
---|
Europe
Western Europe 1–1870 (Lo Cascio/Malanima)
The following estimates are taken from a revision of Angus Maddison's numbers for Western Europe by the Italian economists Elio Lo Cascio and Paolo Malanima.[9] According to their calculations, the basic level of European GDP (PPP) per capita was historically higher, but its increase was less pronounced.
Authors | 1 | 1000 | 1500 | 1600 | 1700 | 1820 | 1870 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lo Cascio/Malanima | 1,000 | 900 | 1,350 | 1,250 | 1,400 | 1,350 | 1,960 |
Maddison | 576 | 427 | 771 | 889 | 997 | 1,202 | 1,960 |
Great Powers 1830–1890 (Bairoch)
The following estimates were made by the economic historian Paul Bairoch.[10] Contrary to most other estimates on this page, the GNP (PPP) per capita is given here in 1960 US dollars.
Country | 1830 | 1840 | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria-Hungary | 250 | 266 | 283 | 288 | 305 | 315 | 361 |
Britain | 346 | 394 | 458 | 558 | 628 | 680 | 785 |
France | 264 | 302 | 333 | 365 | 437 | 464 | 515 |
Germany | 245 | 267 | 308 | 354 | 426 | 443 | 537 |
Italy | 265 | 270 | 277 | 301 | 312 | 311 | 311 |
Russia | 170 | 170 | 175 | 178 | 250 | 224 | 182 |
Roman and Byzantine Empires
Much of the recent work in estimating past GDP per capita has been done in the study of the Roman economy, following the pioneering studies by Keith Hopkins (1980) and Raymond Goldsmith (1984).[11] The estimates by Peter Temin, Angus Maddison, Branko Milanovic and Peter Bang follow the basic method established by Goldsmith, varying mainly only in their set of initial numbers; these are then stepped up to estimations of the expenditure checked by those on the income side. Walter Scheidel/Steven Friesen determine GDP per capita on the relationship between certain significant economic indicators which were historically found to be plausible; two independent control assumptions provide the upper and lower limit of the probable size of the Roman GDP per capita.[12]
Unit | Goldsmith 1984[13] |
Hopkins 1995/6[14] |
Temin 2006[15] |
Maddison 2007[16] |
Milanovic 2007[17] |
Bang 2008[18] |
Scheidel/Friesen 2009[19] |
Lo Cascio/Malanima 2009[20] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Approx. year | 14 AD | 14 AD | 100 AD | 14 AD | 14 AD | 14 AD | 150 AD | 150 AD | |
GDP (PPP) per capita in | Sesterces | HS 380 | HS 225 | HS 166 | HS 380 | HS 380 | HS 229 | HS 260 | HS 380 |
Wheat equivalent | 843 kg | 491 kg | 614 kg | 843 kg | – | 500 kg | 680 kg | 855 kg | |
1990 International Dollars | – | – | – | $570 | $633 | – | $620 | $940 |
Italia is considered the richest region, due to tax transfers from the provinces and the concentration of elite income in the heartland; its GDP per capita is estimated at having been around 40%[20] to 66%[21] higher than in the rest of the empire.
The GDP per capita of the Byzantine Empire, the continuation of the Roman Empire in the east, has been estimated by the World Bank economist Branko Milanovic to range between $680 and 770 (in 1990 International Dollars) at its peak around 1000 AD, the reign of Basil II.[22] This is 1.7 times the subsistence level as compared to the slightly higher value of 2.1 for the Roman Empire under Augustus (30 BC–14 AD).[23]
Notes
- ^ Maddison 2007, p. 382, table A.7.
- ^ Branco (2003), 680
- ^ Pomeranz (2000), 36
- ^ Hobson (2005), 77
- ^ Broadberry, Stephen; Gupta, Bishnupriya: "The Early Modern Great Divergence: Wages, Prices and Economic Development in Europe and Asia, 1500–1800", Economic History Review, Vol. 59, No. 1 (2006), pp. 2–31 (2)
- ^ Brenner, Robert; Isett, Christopher: "England's Divergence from China's Yangzi Delta: Property Relations, Microeconomics, and Patterns of Development", The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 61, No. 2 (2002), pp. 609–662 (650f.)
- ^ Duchesne, Ricardo: "On the Rise of the West: Researching Kenneth Pomeranz’s Great Divergence", Review of Radical Political Economics, Vol. 36, No. 1 (2004), pp. 52–81 (52)
- ^ Landes, David S.: The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, W W Norton & Company, New York 1998, ISBN 0-393-04017-8, pp. 29–44
- ^ Lo Cascio, Malanima Dec. 2009, p. 411, table 6
- ^ Bairoch 1976, p. 286, table 6
- ^ Scheidel, Walter; Morris, Ian; Saller, Richard, eds. (2007): The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-78053-7
- ^ Scheidel, Friesen Nov. 2009, pp. 63–72
- ^ Goldsmith 1984, pp. 263–288
- ^ Hopkins 1995/6, pp. 41–75. His estimates are upward revisions from Hopkins 1980, pp. 101–125, where he lays out his basic method.
- ^ Temin 2006, pp. 31–54
- ^ Maddison 2007, pp. 43–47; 50, table 1.10; 54, table 1.12
- ^ Milanovic, Lindert, Williamson Oct. 2007, pp. 58–66
- ^ Bang 2008, pp. 86–91
- ^ Scheidel, Friesen Nov. 2009, pp. 61–91
- ^ a b Lo Cascio, Malanima Dec. 2009, pp. 391–401
- ^ Maddison 2007, pp. 47–51
- ^ Milanovic 2006, p. 468
- ^ Milanovic 2006, p. 459. This latter value also forms the basis for the only superficially lower $633 given by Milanovic et al. 2007 in the table above. The difference in the Roman and Byzantine GDP (PPP) per capita is due to the authors operating with differing conversion rates for the subsistence level: $300 in the Roman case (2.1 x $300 = ~$633), $400 in the Byzantine one (1.7 x $400 = $680). This means that Roman GDP (PPP) per capita was around 20% higher than the Byzantine one.
Bibliography
- GDP per capita of the Roman Empire
- Bang, Peter Fibiger (2008): The Roman Bazaar: A Comparative Study of Trade and Markets in a Tributary Empire, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-85532-2, pp. 86–91
- Goldsmith, Raymond W. (1984): "An Estimate of the Size and Structure of the National Product of the Early Roman Empire", Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 263–288
- Hopkins, Keith (1980): "Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 B.C.–A.D. 400)", The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 70, pp. 101–125
- Hopkins, Keith (1995/6): "Rome, Taxes, Rents, and Trade", Kodai, Vol. 6/7, pp. 41–75
- Milanovic, Branko; Lindert, Peter H.; Williamson, Jeffrey G. (Oct. 2007): "Measuring Ancient Inequality’, NBER Working Paper 13550, pp. 58–66
- Scheidel, Walter; Friesen, Steven J. (Nov. 2009): "The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire", The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 99, pp. 61–91
- Temin, Peter (2006): "Estimating GDP in the Early Roman Empire", Lo Cascio, Elio (ed.): Innovazione tecnica e progresso economico nel mondo romano, Edipuglia, Bari, ISBN 978-88-7228-405-6, pp. 31–54
- GDP per capita of the Byzantine Empire
- Milanovic, Branko (2006): "An Estimate of Average Income and Inequality in Byzantium around Year 1000", Review of Income and Wealth, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 449–470
- European GDP per capita
- Bairoch, Paul (1976): "Europe's Gross National Product: 1800–1975", Journal of European Economic History, Vol. 5, pp. 273–340
- Angus Maddison — reviews and revisions
- Maddison, Angus (2007): "Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD. Essays in Macro-Economic History", Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-922721-1, p. 379, table A.4.
- Federico, Giovanni (2002): "The World Economy 0–2000 AD: A Review Article", European Review of Economic History, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 111–120 — review
- Lo Cascio, Elio; Malanima, Paolo (Dec. 2009): "GDP in Pre-Modern Agrarian Economies (1–1820 AD). A Revision of the Estimates", Rivista di storia economica, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 391–420 — critique of Maddison's estimates
- Alternative GDP per capita estimates
- Pomeranz, Kenneth (2000), The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-09010-8
- Hobson, John M. (2004), The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-54724-5
- Milanovic, Branco (2003), Against globalization as we know it, Elsevier Science Ltd. World Development Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 667–683, 2003
See also
External links
- Angus Maddison — Historical statistics
- Walter Scheidel — Papers on ancient economy and demography