Fascinating research:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/08/06/how-year-old-roads-predict-modern-day-prosperity/
“Now, a team of
Danish economists has put forth a forceful case for one largely overlooked
driver of economic development in Europe: roadways built by the Roman empire
nearly two thousand years ago. They demonstrate that the density of ancient
Roman roads at a given point in Europe strongly correlates with present-day
prosperity, as measured by modern-day road density, population density and even
satellite imagery of nighttime lighting.
Their data shows
that infrastructure investments are — if you’ll pardon an unpardonable pun — a
pathway to long-term prosperity.”