The Effect of the TseTse Fly on African Development

Marcella Alsan ()

American Economic Review, 2015, vol. 105, issue 1, 382-410

Abstract: The TseTse fly is unique to Africa and transmits a parasite harmful to humans and lethal to livestock. This paper tests the hypothesis that the TseTse reduced the ability of Africans to generate an agricultural surplus historically. Ethnic groups inhabiting TseTse-suitable areas were less likely to use domesticated animals and the plow, less likely to be politically centralized, and had a lower population density. These correlations are not found in the tropics outside of Africa, where the fly does not exist. The evidence suggests current economic performance is affected by the TseTse through the channel of precolonial political centralization. (JEL I12, N57, O13, O17, Q12, Q16, Q18)

JEL-codes: I12 N57 O13 O17 Q12 Q16 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20130604
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (177)

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