Religion & Liberty Online

How geography affects economic growth

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The continent of Africa has so much space that you could fit most of the United States, China, India, and a lot of Europe onto it. But if you compare Africa to Europe, Europe has two to three times the length of coastline that Africa has.

Why does that matter? Because, as this fascinating video by Marginal Revolution University explains, coasts mean access to water which makes trade easier and increases economic growth.

As the video explains, economic growth is not only affected by a country’s rules and institutions, but by a country’s natural blessings and natural hindrances.

Joe Carter

Joe Carter is a Senior Editor at the Acton Institute. Joe also serves as an editor at the The Gospel Coalition, a communications specialist for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and as an adjunct professor of journalism at Patrick Henry College. He is the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible and co-author of How to Argue like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History's Greatest Communicator (Crossway).