By  DARON ACEMOGLU, SIMON JOHNSON, AND JAMES ROBINSO

The rise of  Western Europe after 1500 is due largely to growth in countries with
access to the Atlantic Ocean and with substantial trade with the New World, Africa,
and Asia via the Atlantic. This trade and the associated colonialism affected Europe
not  only  directly,  but  also  indirectly by  inducing  institutional change.  Where
"initial" political  institutions (those established before 1500) placed  significant
checks on the monarchy, the growth of Atlantic trade strengthened merchant groups
by constraining the power of the monarchy, and helped merchants obtain changes
in institutions to protect property rights. These changes were central to subsequent
economic growth.