Ruggedness: The blessing of bad geography in Africa

Nathan Nunn and Diego Puga

No 2007-09, Working Papers from Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados (IMDEA) Ciencias Sociales

Abstract: There is controversy about whether geography matters mainly because of its contemporaneous impact on economic outcomes or because of its interaction with historical events. Looking at terrain ruggedness, we are able to estimate the importance of these two channels. Because rugged terrain hinders trade and most productive activities, it has a negative direct effect on income. However, in Africa rugged terrain afforded protection to those being raided during the slave trades. Since the slave trades retarded subsequent economic development, in Africa ruggedness has also had a historical indirect positive effect on income. Studying all countries worldwide, we find that both effects are significant statistically and that for Africa the indirect positive effect is at least as large as the direct negative effect. Looking within Africa, we also provide evidence that the indirect effect operates through the slave trades.

Keywords: terrain ruggedness; slave trades; Africa; geography; economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N40 N50 O11 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-03-01, Revised 2010-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-dev
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Published in Review of Economics and Statistics 94(1), February 2012: 20-36

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Related works:
Journal Article: Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa (2012)
Working Paper: Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa (2012)
Working Paper: Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa (2009)
Working Paper: Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa (2007)
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