Constructive extraction? Encomienda, the colonial state, and development in Colombia

Jean-Paul Faguet, Camilo Matajira () and Fabio Sánchez-Torres ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Fabio Sanchez Torres

No 20105, Documentos CEDE from Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE

Abstract: The Spanish encomienda, a colonial forced-labor institution that lasted three centuries, killed many indigenous people and caused others to flee into nomadism. And yet we show that Colombian municipalities with encomiendas in 1560 enjoy better outcomes today across multiple dimensions of development compared to those without: higher municipal GDP per capita, tax receipts, and secondary school enrolments; lower infant mortality and unsatisfied basic needs; larger populations; and superior fiscal performance and tax collection efficiency. Why? A mediation exercise using data on local institutions in 1794 shows that encomiendas affected development overwhelmingly by helping build the local state. Detailed historical evidence shows when and how encomenderos founded local institutions early on in places where they settled. Places lacking encomiendas also lacked local states for up to 300 years. These institutions mobilized public investment in ways that doubtless suited encomenderos, but over time spurred greater economic and human development.

Keywords: EncomiendaForced; laborState; capacityExtractionColonialismDevelopmentColombia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H7 N36 N96 O1 O43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 63
Date: 2022-05-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-gro, nep-his and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/57243/dcede2022-12.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000089:020105

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Documentos CEDE from Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Universidad De Los Andes-Cede ().