2021/12/01 by Joram Mayshar, Omer Moav, Luigi Pascali · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Culture, Economy, and Development Studies #Historical Economic and Social Studies
paper · doi:10.1086/718372
openalex created_date 2021/07/19 · openalex publication_date 2021/12/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The conventional theory about the origin of the state is that the adoption of farming increased land productivity, which led to the production of food surplus. This surplus was a prerequisite for the emergence of tax-levying elites and, eventually, states. We challenge this theory and propose that hierarchy arose as a result of the shift to dependence on appropriable cereal grains. Our empirical investigation, utilizing multiple data sets spanning several millennia, demonstrates a causal effect of the cultivation of cereals on hierarchy, without finding a similar effect for land productivity. We further support our claims with several case studies.