Development Interventions in Africa’s Historical Borderlands: Evidence from Colonial Missions

Cermeño, Alexandra L., Alessandra Quintigliano and Jacob Weisdorf

No 21364, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Africa’s historical borderlands are persistently associated with low levels of economic development. This paper examines how these regions respond to development interventions, asking how much the long-run development advantage associated with colonial Christian missions attenuates near the borders. Combining georeferenced data on 3,365 pioneering mission stations with high-resolution satellite night-time luminosity data, we show that the positive association between proximity to missionary activity and contemporary economic development weakens sharply near the borders. This result is robust across a wide range of specifications and is corroborated by evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys on household wealth and human capital

Date: 2026-04
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