Stephen Haber

Stephen Haber is the A.A. and Jeanne Welch Milligan Professor at Stanford University, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a professor of history and political science. His research examines political economy, economic development, finance, innovation, and the historical roots of economic differences among countries. He presented co-authored research at the Hoover Economic Policy Working Group seminar.

Economic Markets Follow Terrain and Transport Technology, Not Fixed Grid Cells

Fixed latitude-longitude grid cells can obscure the markets within which people make economic decisions: unlike cells, markets change in reach with terrain and transport technology. Stephen Haber and Jordan Horrillo propose measuring markets as contiguous areas shaped by those conditions, then use the method to test Adam Smith’s claim that economic development is bounded by market extent. Their analysis of cities in Eurasia and Africa around 1800 finds that market reach helps explain the distribution of urban population, though it is not the only factor.

Hoover InstitutionOct 13, 202613 min read