Precolonial and Colonial Origins of Inclusive Peace

Colonial Origins of Schooling: Cross-Country Evidence

Following the hypotheses suggested by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001 and 2002) and Engerman and Sokoloff (1997 and 2002), this paper presents evidence concerning the importance of colonial origins in understanding differences in current levels of schooling. Conditions faced by colonizers, such as potential settler mortality, density of native population, and the characteristics of factor...

Indigenous and Colonial Origins of Comparative Economic Development: The Case of Colonial India and Africa

The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation

We exploit differences in the mortality rates faced by European colonialists 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 they were more likely to set up extractive institutions. T...

The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation: Comment

Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001) (hereafter, AJR) is a seminal article that has reinvigorated debate over the relationship between property rights and economic growth. Following Knack and Keefer (1995), Mauro (1995), La Porta et al. (1998), Hall and Jones (1999), Rodrik (1999), and others, AJR endeavors to determine the causal effect of institutions that protect property rights, measured ...

The Origins of Identity Politics: Caste in Colonial India

Why are some ethnic identities become of focus of activist campaigns, while others are not? I argue that identity mobilization is non-linearly related to group socioeconomic status, since very poor groups do not have an educated elite to participate in activism, while in very rich groups this elite exists but its members are so wealthy that they have no need to use explicit identity rhetoric to...