The historical diffusion of the potato in the Old World serves as an example of the contribution of technological innovations to socio-economic growth and development (Nunn and Qian in Q J Econ 126(2):593–650, 2011). Climate-related diseases, on the other hand, might offset some of these benefits. Here we examine the long-term impact of malaria on the potato-driven growth of the population and urbanization in the Old World during the 18th and 19th centuries. We exploit local variations in environmental suitability both for potato and for malaria transmission to estimate and compare the impact of potato cultivation on population and urbanization in highly endemic to non-endemic areas at a high level of spatial disaggregation. We show that local climate conditions ideal for malaria transmission counteracted the potential benefits of introducing the potato to the Old World, which are conversely found to be strong and positive in non-endemic regions. These results highlight the interplay between technological change, public health, and development outcomes.

马铃薯在旧世界的历史传播是技术创新对社会经济增长和发展做出贡献的一个例子（Nunn 和Qian，QJ Econ 126(2):593–650, 2011）。另一方面，与气候相关的疾病可能会抵消其中一些好处。在这里，我们研究了 18 世纪和 19 世纪疟疾对旧世界马铃薯驱动的人口增长和城市化的长期影响。我们利用马铃薯和疟疾传播环境适宜性的当地差异，在高水平的空间分解下估计和比较马铃薯种植对高流行区和非流行区人口和城市化的影响。我们发现，当地有利于疟疾传播的气候条件抵消了将马铃薯引入旧世界的潜在好处，相反，在非流行地区，这种好处是强大和积极的。这些结果凸显了技术变革、公共卫生和发展成果之间的相互作用。