Further evidence on the link between pre-colonial political centralization and comparative economic development in Africa
Journal
Economics Letters
Subject
Economics
Publishing details
Authors / Editors
Michalopoulos S;Papaioannou E
Biographies
Publication Year
2015
Abstract
We examine the link between pre-colonial statehood and contemporary regional African development, as reflected in satellite images on light density at night. We employ a variety of historical maps to capture the former. Our within-country analysis reveals a strong positive correlation between pre-colonial political centralization and contemporary development (and urbanization). If anything, the association strengthens when we account for measurement error on the historical maps of pre-colonial political organization.
Keywords
Ethnicity; Development; Institutions; State capacity; Africa
Available on ECCH
No