scholarly journals Rain, Riches, and Empire: The Relationship between Nations Ruling Distant Lands, Nations of Great Wealth, and Regions of Regular Moderate Atmospheric Precipitation

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bruce Railsback

Abstract Two of the great questions of human history and economics are why some nations held far-flung empires and why some presently enjoy great wealth. One factor that should be included in the inevitably multifactorial answer to these questions is regular moderate precipitation (precipitation with an average rate between 30 and 120 mm for each month). Only a small proportion of Earth’s surface has regular moderate precipitation, and most of that area is in Europe and eastern North America. Strikingly, of the 13 nations that held geographically discontinuous multicontinental transoceanic empires, 12 overlap with regions of regular moderate precipitation. Similarly, of the 20 nations with the greatest per capita GDP in 2015, 16 coincide with regions of regular moderate precipitation. These relationships are presumably rooted in the greater success, or lesser inhibition, of human construction of infrastructure, husbandry of livestock, and cultivation of crops, some combination of which likely allowed industrialization, projection of geopolitical power, and accumulation of wealth. One instructive example is that of China, which has a climate superficially like that of Europe and eastern North America but no regions of regular moderate rainfall, and which neither developed an overseas empire nor is among the world’s nations with greatest per capita GDP. Furthermore, concentration of nations holding empires and wealth in the Northern Hemisphere and their absence from the south can be linked to the coincidence that the Southern Hemisphere’s latitudinal zone of regular moderate rainfall is over the Southern Ocean, where there is little land on which human societies could have enjoyed the benefits of that supportive climate.

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-289
Author(s):  
Eduard J. Alvarez-Palau ◽  
Alfonso Díez-Minguela ◽  
Jordi Martí-Henneberg

AbstractThis study explores the relationship between railroad integration and regional development on the European periphery between 1870 and 1910, based on a regional data set including 291 spatial units. Railroad integration is proxied by railroad density, while per capita GDP is used as an indicator of economic development. The period under study is of particular relevance as it has been associated with the second wave of railroad construction in Europe and also coincides with the industrialization of most of the continent. Overall, we found that railroads had a significant and positive impact on the growth of per capita GDP across Europe. The magnitude of this relationship appears to be relatively modest, but the results obtained are robust with respect to a number of different specifications. From a geographical perspective, we found that railroads had a significantly greater influence on regions located in countries on the northern periphery of Europe than in other outlying areas. They also helped the economies of these areas to begin the process of catching up with the continent’s industrialized core. In contrast, the regions on the southern periphery showed lower levels of economic growth, with this exacerbating the preexisting divergence in economic development. The expansion of the railroad network in them was unable to homogenize the diffusion of economic development and tended to further benefit the regions that were already industrialized. In most of the cases, the capital effect was magnified, and this contributed to the consolidation of newly created nation-states.


Author(s):  
Junran Ma

With the development of economy, environmental problems gradually outstanding in China. This article adopts the method of empirical study, have collected the data of China's industrial added value, per capita GDP and emissions of the three major pollutants from 2004 to 2015. The VAR model was established on the basis of the logarithm values of the three factors mentioned above, so as to conduct impulse- response analysis to discuss the relationship between industrialization level, economic development and environmental pollution. The conclusion is as follows: (1) At present, the increase of China's industrial added value can promote the decline of China's environmental pollution emissions to a certain extent; (2) China is now at the left of the turning point of the Environmental Kuznets Curve, and the increase of per capita GDP will aggravate environmental pollution.


2013 ◽  
Vol 807-809 ◽  
pp. 773-782
Author(s):  
Qing Song Li ◽  
Kai Kang ◽  
Jia Wei Zhu ◽  
Qing Xiang Meng ◽  
Su Jun Deng

The study set up the model of per capita GDP and the environmental index based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) with the support of SPSS software and the 2003-2011 economics and environment data of Puyang City. And the result shows that the environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) of industrial wastewater discharge and industrial sulfur dioxide emissions both display inverted U-shape; and just across the turning point, the discharge present downward trend with the increasing of per capita GDP; while the EKC of industrial fumes emissions display positive U-shape, and its emission present upward trend first and then downward with the increasing of per capita GDP. It shows that the environmental problems of Puyang City has partly improved, but has not been fully restrained. The main reasons are unreasonable industrial structure, single dominated industy and relatively low investment on environmental improvement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G. Fidgen ◽  
Mark C. Whitmore ◽  
Chris J.K. MacQuarrie ◽  
Jean J. Turgeon

Abstract Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), a nonindigenous insect pest of hemlock (Tsuga spp.) (Pinaceae) in eastern North America, spends most of its life cycle within an ovisac, which resembles a woolly white mass on twigs. We evaluated the probability of detecting adelgid wool with Velcro®-covered balls when taking an increasing number of samples per tree (field sampling) and number of trees per simulated stand. We examined the relationship between the detection of adelgid wool using this technique and the incidence of A. tsugae-infested twigs by sampling lower-crown branch tips of the same trees. We found that the probability of detecting wool with ball sampling increased with number of ball samples per tree, with number of trees per simulated stand, and with increasing incidence of ovisacs in the lower crown. When sampling an individual tree, we found that 20 ball samples per tree achieved a targeted precision level of 0.75, but when sampling a stand, we found that 10 ball samples per tree took the least time for the range of simulated A. tsugae infestations we tested. These sample sizes are recommended for detection of A. tsugae infestations on an individual tree and in a hemlock stand.


1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2177-2195 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. Rothrock ◽  
A. A. Reznicek ◽  
L. R. Ganion

The Carex straminea complex (section Ovales) consists of five species limited to hydric communities of eastern North America. Based upon gross morphology and perigynium structure, these species are closely aligned with the Carex albolutescens complex but not the western species Carex feta. An SEM investigation of the micromorphology of achene and style epidermis from 15 species of Carex section Ovales demonstrated much interspecific variation. As a result, these data could not confirm the relationship between the C. straminea complex and the C. albolutescens complex but did support the delimitation of section Ovales. Numerical analysis showed that characters of the inflorescence and perigynium are satisfactory for separating C. straminea from Carex hormathodes, a species limited to the Atlantic coast. Likewise, characters of inflorescence, pistillate scale, and perigynium could clearly separate the geographically widespread Carex alata from the Florida endemic species Carex vexans. A fifth and relatively distinctive species, Carex suberecta, was found to have a narrow ecological preference for fens and a distribution limited to the upper Midwest, with outlying populations in western Virginia. Putative natural hybrids are documented between Carex scoparia and Carex longii and some species in the C. straminea complex. Key words: Carex, Cyperaceae, section Ovales, taxonomy, SEM, biogeography, hybrid.


Author(s):  
Hong Zhuang ◽  
Robert St. Juliana

This paper explores determinants of economic growth using variables from traditional Solow model and recent empirical studies. The study covers data on American countries during the period 1995-2006.  The estimates show that per capita, GDP growth is positively related to capital expenditure, primary completion rate and trade openness and the relationship is statistically significant. Furthermore, population growth rate and investment in research and development have positive impacts on economic growth, yet the effects are not significant.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Shane Miller ◽  
Joseph A.M. Gingerich

AbstractIn this paper we use radiocarbon dates to evaluate the signature of the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC) in eastern North America. Using an approach that examines radiocarbon dates by region, we argue that the northeastern United States shows a better overall representation of radiocarbon dates when compared to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. These data result in a peak in summed probability distributions during the YDC, which is often interpreted as evidence of population growth. Further examination of these distributions, however, illustrates that differential standard deviations, varying sample size, and the effect of taphonomic and research biases likely overwhelm any demographic signatures in our study sample. Consequently, the frequency of radiocarbon dates by itself is insufficient for understanding the relationship between climate, culture and demography in eastern North America.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Sushant Kumar ◽  
Kuldeep Baishya ◽  
Naman Sreen ◽  
Pradip H. Sadarangani ◽  
Harsh Vardhan Samalia

E-government has become a growth engine for government. Despite splendid progress in information and communication technologies, e-government is developing at a slow pace. This study aims to examine the cultural factors responsible for e-government development. Drawing from customer focus theory and cultural theory, the study explores the relationship between the dimensions of national culture and e-government development. The study uses panel data of e-government development and per capita GDP from 2008 to 2018 of 78 countries to examine the relationship. The result shows that cultural dimensions and per capita GDP are significant predictors of e-government development. Per capita GDP, when examined with cultural dimensions, namely power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation, shows interactive effects on e-government development. This study contributes to the literature of e-government, the customer focus theory, and cultural theory. The paper also presents the practical implications of findings that are relevant to the policymakers and governments.


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