As the Phoenicians sailed across the Mediterranean, they spread mice and growth

We analyse the growth effects of one of the first major trade expansions in human history: the systematic crossing of the open sea in the Mediterranean by the Phoenicians. To analyse whether this increased trade also caused growth, we exploit the fact that open-sea sailing creates different levels of connectedness for different points on the coast. Ferdinand Rauch is an associate professor at the department of economics and tutorial fellow at Brasenose College, and a research associate in CEP’s trade programme.

Source: blogs.lse.ac.uk