The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

American Economic Review, 2001, vol. 91, issue 5, 1369-1401

Abstract: We exploit differences in European mortality rates to estimate the effect of institutions on economic performance. Europeans adopted very different colonization policies in different colonies, with different associated institutions. In places where Europeans faced high mortality rates, they could not settle and were more likely to set up extractive institutions. These institutions persisted to the present. Exploiting differences in European mortality rates as an instrument for current institutions, we estimate large effects of institutions on income per capita. Once the effect of institutions is controlled for, countries in Africa or those closer to the equator do not have lower incomes.

JEL-codes: I12 N10 O11 O57 P51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.91.5.1369
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