PEPP Special Seminar (July 9 2026) – Prof. Motohiro Kumagai
2026/06/11
2026/7/9 (Thur.)
Speaker: Prof. Motohiro Kumagai (Australian National University )
Chair: Prof. Vuong Nguyen
Time: 16:45~18:15
Format: Onsite 3K311
Title: Keeping Pulses on the Soil: Cultivation Practice and the Early Rise of Political Organization
Abstract: Scholars studying the origins of political institutions and long-run economic development have long viewed agriculture as fundamental to the emergence of political organization. But why did some agricultural regions experience the rise of early states earlier than others? In this paper, we argue that one important factor may have been an early agricultural innovation: the mixed cultivation of pulses and cereals. This cultivation practice reduced soil degradation and prolonged the productive use of agricultural land, thereby helping societies reach and sustain the larger populations necessary for political development and state transition. We develop a unified growth model and provide suggestive empirical evidence showing that countries with greater potential for mixed-crop cultivation were more likely to experience earlier state formation.
