Date of Award
5-2015
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Economics and Finance
Committee Chair(s)
Aspen Gorry
Committee
Aspen Gorry
Committee
Dwight Israelsen
Committee
Man-Keun Kim
Abstract
So many of the world's most impoverished nations are found in warm climate regions that some economists have referred to "tropical" as synonymous with "underdeveloped". In this paper I study the difference in GDP per capita throughout the world based on latitude, and show that there is a significant, positive correlation between distance from the equator and GDP per capita. I find that consumption is different in wealthier countries and that these differences are correlated with latitude. I use these differences in consumption as a new approach to evaluating the problem of what causes temperate climate nations to be rich and warm climate nations to be poor. I hypothesize that cold weather creates demand for greater fuel consumption, better built homes, warmer clothing, and automobiles for transportation, and that production of these goods increases total output.
Recommended Citation
Stringham, Trevor Greg, "Climate, Latitude and Wealth" (2015). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023. 546.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/546
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