Economic Growth of Landlocked Countries

Abstract

Twenty years ago, blaming problems of economic underdevelopment on geography (or climate) would likely have led to accusations of „environmental determinism“. However, as economic divergence between rich and poor countries, as well as between middle-income and low-income developing countries, has persisted (Pritchett 1997), it has again become acceptable to seek the causes of poor economic performance in „natural“ factors. Gallup et al. (1998) suggest that location and climate, through their impacts on transportation costs, the burden of disease and agricultural productivity, have significant effects on development. In this paper, we focus on one of the main geographical disadvantages that a country can face, being landlocked