It has been argued, perhaps most eloquently by Sokoloff and Engerman (2000), that initial
institutional modes of production and extraction in distant history had far-reaching
effects on subsequent development. In their words, scholars “have begun to explore the
possibility that initial conditions, or factor endowments broadly conceived, could have
had profound and enduring impacts on long-run paths of institutional and economic development
. . . ”. Such inequalities may then be inimical to development in a variety of
ways (such as the market based pathways discussed earlier). In contrast, where initial
settlements did not go hand in hand with systems of tribute, land grants, or large-scale
extractive industries (as in several regions of North America), one might expect comparative
equality and a subsequent path of development that is more broad-based.