The Climate-Wealth Connection

The Relationship Between Frost and Wealth of Nations

• Dr. William Masters and Margaret McMillan conducted research to find a link between climate and the wealth of nations.
• Cold snaps have two main benefits: they freeze pests that would destroy crops and also freeze organisms that carry disease.
• The academics studied the average income for countries and climate data from the University of East Anglia.
• Countries with five or more frosty days a month are uniformly rich, while those with fewer than five are impoverished.
• Limited frosts bring huge benefits to farmers, as it kills insects, slows the break-up of plant and animal material in the soil, and ensures a build-up of moisture in the ground.
• Climate is not the only factor determining the wealth of nations; it combines with other factors such as institutions and access to trading routes.
• Institutions bring order to a country in the form of laws and property rights, which lead to affluence.
• Richer countries should change the way foreign aid is given, focusing on technology to improve agriculture and combat disease instead of improving governance.
• Other factors contributing to the split between poor and rich nations include anthropological, climatic, and zoological reasons.
• Eurasia is broadly aligned east-west, allowing crops to spread quickly across latitudes because climates are similar.
• Domesticated livestock in Eurasia provided meat, wool, and motive power in the fields, giving the region natural advantages.
• The wealth of nations is too complicated to be attributable to just one factor, but a favorable environment, including climate, can help the accumulation of wealth and improvement in governing institutions.