Did colonization matter for growth? An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment

Graziella Bertocchi () and Fabio Canova

Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract: We investigate the impact of 20th--century European colonization on growth in Africa. We find that in the 1960--88 period growth has been faster for dependencies than for colonies; for British and French colonies than for Portuguese, Belgian and Italian ones; and for countries with less economic penetration during the colonial period. On average, African growth accelerates after decolonization. Proxies for colonial heritage add explanatory power to growth regressions and make indicators for human capital, political and ethnic instability lose significance. Colonial variables capture the same effects of a sub--Saharan dummy and reduce its significance when jointly included in a cross sectional regression with 98 countries.

Keywords: Colonization; growth; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E00 N10 O40 Q32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996-12
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Did colonization matter for growth?: An empirical exploration into the historical causes of Africa's underdevelopment (2002)
Working Paper: Did Colonization Matter for Growth? An Empirical Exploration into the Historical Causes of Africa's Underdevelopment (1996)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:upf:upfgen:202

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