The long‐run agglomeration effects of early agriculture in Europe

Abstract

We study the effects of an early introduction of agriculture (Neolithic Transition) on modern agglomeration, using a new dataset on carbon dated organic materials found at archeological sites in Northern Europe. We find a positive effect of early agriculture, in particular within countries, which contrasts with a negative or zero correlation found in studies using older data, covering a larger region that includes both Europe and the Middle East. We argue that this reflects a mix of positive long‐run effects on urban agglomeration, and negative effects on state institutions, which show up to different degrees depending on context.