Property Rights, strongStandards of Livingstrong, and Economic Growth.pdfVIP

QED Queen’s Economics Department Working Paper No. 1232 Property Rights, Standards of Living, and Economic Growth: Western Canadian Cree Ann Carlos Frank Lewis University of Colorado, Boulder Queen’s University Department of Economics Queen’s University 94 University Avenue Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6 1-2010 Property Rights, Standards of Living, and Economic Growth: Western Canadian Cree Ann M. Carlos Department of Economics University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80304 and School of Economics University College Dublin Dublin 4, Ireland Frank D. Lewis Department of Economics Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Prepared for 2009 WEHC session on Property Rights, Instituional Settings and Economic Growth. The arguments presented here come from our forthcoming book, Commerce by a Frozen Sea: Native Americans and the European Fur Trade. (2010) Abstract The Great Divergence in standards of living for populations around the world occurred in the late 18th century. Prior to that date evidence suggests that real wages of most Europeans, many living in China and India were similar. Some a little higher and some a little lower but