everyone used to be poor,” then how did some ancient civilizations afford to create massive buildings such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Buddhist statues of Afghanistan? "Everyone used to be poor" is a general statement regarding economic history with some notable exceptions, namely the civilizations that produced these monuments. Ancient civilizations lasted for hundreds of years. The political stability afforded by such longevity outweighed the lack of wealth these civilizations had. Ancient civilizations usually operated under a single ruler, allowing for more efficient allocation of resources

Microeconomics: Principles & Policy
14th Edition
ISBN:9781337794992
Author:William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder, John L. Solow
Publisher:William J. Baumol, Alan S. Blinder, John L. Solow
Chapter19: Labor And Entrepreneurship: The Human Inputs
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a. If “everyone used to be poor,” then how did some ancient civilizations afford to create massive buildings such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Buddhist statues of Afghanistan?

"Everyone used to be poor" is a general statement regarding economic history with some notable exceptions, namely the civilizations that produced these monuments.

Ancient civilizations lasted for hundreds of years. The political stability afforded by such longevity outweighed the lack of wealth these civilizations had.

Ancient civilizations usually operated under a single ruler, allowing for more efficient allocation of resources than under decentralized power structures such as democracy or competitive markets.

Civilizations that controlled many poor people could concentrate their limited wealth and labor resources toward one giant project.

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