We document that the importance of land differs significantly in temperate and tropical agriculture. Using district level data (i.e. 2nd-level administrative units), we estimate the elasticity of agricultural output with respect to land by examining variation in rural density and inherent agricultural productivity. The elasticity in areas with temperate agriculture (0.23) is significantly higher than in areas with tropical agriculture (0.13). A two-sector model shows that the high elasticity in temperate areas makes their living standards more sensitive to shocks in population growth and technology. We confirm these predictions using evidence from the post-war mortality transition. JEL Codes: O1, O13, O44, Q10

中文翻译：

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土地在温带和热带农业中的作用

我们记录了土地在温带和热带农业中的重要性显着不同。使用地区级数据（即二级行政单位），我们通过检验农村密度和内在农业生产力的变化来估计农业产出相对于土地的弹性。温带农业地区的弹性（0.23）明显高于热带农业地区（0.13）。两部门模型表明，温带地区的高弹性使其生活水平对人口增长和技术的冲击更加敏感。我们使用来自战后死亡率转变的证据证实了这些预测。JEL 代码：O1、O13、O44、Q10