Is Africa Different? Historical Conflict and State Development

Mark Dincecco, James Fenske and Massimiliano Onorato

No 2014-35, CSAE Working Paper Series from Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

Abstract: We show that the long-run consequences of historical warfare are different for Sub-Saharan Africa than for the rest of the Old World. We identify the locations of over 1,750 conflicts in Africa, Asia, and Europe from 1400 to 1799. We find that historical warfare predicts greater state capacity today across the Old World, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is no significant correlation between historical warfare and current civil conflicts across the rest of the Old World. However, this correlation is strong and positive in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, while a history of conflict predicts higher per capita GDP for the rest of the Old World, this positive consequence is overturned for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-evo, nep-gro and nep-his
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Related works:
Journal Article: Is Africa Different? Historical Conflict and State Development (2019)
Working Paper: Is Africa Different? Historical Conflict and State Development (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-35

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