The Journey of Humanity

In a captivating journey from the dawn of human existence to the present, Oded Galor offers a fascinating tale of why some nations have developed while others haven't.

The book explains how technology, family size, and adaptation led to a profound change in human history, with the Industrial Revolution as the turning point. The fundamental forces driving the explosion of per capita prosperity (in some nations) can be traced back to sound political institutions, conducive cultural traits, and an 'optimal' ethnic diversity that followed from the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa some 70,000 years ago.

I was struck… show more.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in the topic of economic growth and not already an expert in it.

For me personally, having read tons of academic papers in the area, including many influential papers by Oded Galor himself, this book did not make a big impact. However I greatly appreciated how smoothly the author has synthesized a large body of literature.

I also appreciated the special focus of the book on the Industrial Revolution – the first period in human history when affluence was made available for larger groups of people, not just a narrow… show more.