Haven't read paper yet but seems wrong: first mega-empire, the Persian, was result of steppe riders conquering Near East with new innovation (cavalry). Before this even, connections between Near East and Steppe were frequent: intercourse through Caucasus mountain passes
This asked: what predicts an area up-scaling to big states? (a) duration of agriculture, (b) productivity of agriculture, (c) terrain ruggedness, or (d) distance from the steppe
Turns out, a and d are most important, not wealth or physical geography.
Probably because ...
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