<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This essay explores the journey of humanity since the emergence of <italic>Homo sapiens</italic> 300,000 years ago. It analyses the critical role of Unified Growth Theory in resolving two fundamental mysteries that had characterized this journey: (i) The mystery of growth—why did living standards stagnate for most of human history and what led to their sudden soar 200 years ago? (ii) the mystery of inequality—what are the roots of the major surge in inequality across nations and why have these gaps widened dramatically over the past 200 years?</p></abstract>

This essay explores the journey of humanity since the emergence of Homo sapiens 300,000 years ago. It analyses the critical role of Unified Growth Theory in resolving two fundamental mysteries that had characterized this journey: (i) The mystery of growth—why did living standards stagnate for most of human history and what led to their sudden soar 200 years ago? (ii) the mystery of inequality—what are the roots of the major surge in inequality across nations and why have these gaps widened dramatically over the past 200 years?

The journey of humanity: Roots of inequality in the wealth of nations

Economics and Business Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"The journey of humanity: Roots of inequality in the wealth of nations"}

This essay explores the journey of humanity since the emergence of Homo sapiens 300,000 years ago. It analyses the critical role of Unified Growth Theory in...

The journey of humanity: Roots of inequality in the wealth of nations

Published Online: Jul 04, 2020

Page range: 7 - 18

Received: May 17, 2020

Accepted: Jun 08, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/ebr.2020.2.2

Keywords
growth, comparative development, great divergence, Malthusian Epoch, population diversity

© 2020 Oded Galor, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The journey of humanity: Roots of inequality in the wealth of nations

Published Online: Jul 04, 2020

Page range: 7 - 18

Received: May 17, 2020

Accepted: Jun 08, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/ebr.2020.2.2

Keywordsgrowth, comparative development, great divergence, Malthusian Epoch, population diversity

© 2020 Oded Galor, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
growth, comparative development, great divergence, Malthusian Epoch, population diversity