How wars, plagues, and urban disease propelled Europe’s rise to riches

This article almost reads like a synopsis of 'guns, germs and steel' by Jared Diamond.

While the article claims to explain the emergence of a income gap by the presence of war and disease, I believe it only shows how easily arguments based on simplistic economic theories can confuse correlation with causation.

This only explains why Europeans had a relatively higher standard of living over the centuries. It does not offer an explanation for why Europe shot ahead of the rest of the world spectacularly in the 19th century.

That question is addressed in A Farewell to Alms. It will never get much popular air time because the conclusion is basically eugenic forces. The most economically productive people had the most children in Europe, and this was not true in the rest of the world.