Understanding Long-Run African Growth: Colonial Institutions or Colonial Education?

Abstract

Long-term growth in developing countries has been explained in four frameworks: 'extractive colonial institutions' (Acemoglu et al., 2001), 'colonial legal origin' (La Porta et al., 2004), 'geography' (Gallup et al., 1998) and 'colonial human capital' (Glaeser et al., 2004). In this paper we test the 'colonial human capital' explanation for sub-Saharan Africa, controlling for legal origin and geography. Utilising data on colonial era education, we find that instrumented human capital explains long-term growth better, and shows greater stability over time, than instrumented measures for extractive institutions. We suggest that the impact of the disease environment on African long-term growth runs through a human capital channel rather than an extractive-institutions channel. The effect of education is robust to including variables capturing legal origin and geography, which have additional explanatory power.

The Importance of History for Economic Development

“…Similarly, Bolt and Bezemer (2008) also show that there is a positive correlation between colonial education levels and current income across African countries.…”

Introduction to the Special Issue on colonial institutions and African development

“…Four kinds of factors are put forward as Special Issue on colonial institutions and African development 199 sources of sustainable growth: natural endowments, soil fertility and agricultural productivity, diseases and plagues, and transport costs (Bloom and Sachs, 1998;Diamond, 1999;Gallup et al, 1998;Sachs, 2001;Sachs and Warner, 1997). Testing these four factors in the case of Africa, and notably in the former French colonies, Bolt and Bezemer (2009) did not find any to be statistically significant. They provided evidence that the origins of Africa's comparative development relied on education and more broadly on human capital.…”

On Tax Efforts and Colonial Heritage in Africa

“…Researchers working in this vein now look at how colonial culture, forms of colonisation, legal systems and institutional heritage have shaped the 'initial conditions' of African economies and continue to have an impact on, current economic performance (Acemoglu, et al 2001;Austin 2008;Bolt and Bezemer 2009;Engerman, et al 2005;Grier 1999 In this paper, we seek to explain a widely observed feature of African economies, namely the significant differences in the share of tax revenue in GDP. We look at the historical process of integration of indigenous populations into the colonial order, giving special attention to the structures of labour markets in the region and to the revenue needs of colonial governments.…”