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# Colonial Prosperity Mechanisms

## Definition

The economic factors that enable rapid development in new colonies, including abundant cheap land, high wages attracting labor, self-government encouraging enterprise, and the ability to retain most produce value. These mechanisms operate most effectively when colonies have economic autonomy and market access.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 7

## Context

Smith contrasts colonial prosperity mechanisms with the constraints imposed by mercantilist policies. He argues that the natural advantages of new settlements—particularly land abundance and labor scarcity—create conditions for rapid economic growth that monopoly restrictions artificially limit.

## Economic Domain

Production

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