Abstract
Geography strongly affects development, but geography is not destiny. Public infrastructure investments, health policy, and agricultural policies can help overcome the adverse effects of geography on economic growth. A close relationship exists between climate and development, but human capital investment and health policy seem key to economic development in tropical areas. Likewise, strong relationships exist among coastal locations, urbanization, and growth, but investment in transportation and communication infrastructure linking coastal and hinterland areas facilitates hinterland development. Access to hinterland resources is a geographic challenge to be overcome by infrastructure investment. The failure of hinterland development in some countries is partly due to insufficient transportation and communication investment.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.