Can geography explain differences in economic development between present day economies? Just wondered if anyone considered this. Do simple geographic factors explain differences in economic development?
Dani Rodrik, Arvind Subramanian, Francesco Trebbi have a paper on "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions over Geography and Integration in Economic Development", Journal of Economic Growth, June 2004, 9(2): pp.131-165.

They estimate the respective contributions of institutions, geography, and trade in determining income levels around the world, using recently developed instruments for institutions and trade. They results indicate that the quality of institutions trumps' everything else. They add that once institutions are controlled for, measures of geography have at best weak direct effects on incomes, although they have a strong indirect effect by influencing the quality of institutions.