DP8486 Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development: In and Out of Africa

Author(s):	Graziella Bertocchi
Publication Date:	July 2011
Keyword(s):	Africa, colonization, Growth, history, institutions, slavery, state fragility
JEL(s):	H11, N17, O43
Programme Areas:	International Macroeconomics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=8486

This essay investigates the determinants of the growth performance of Africa. I start by illustrating a broader research agenda which accounts not only for basic economic and demographic factors, but also for the role of history and institutional development. After reporting results from standard growth regressions, I analyze the role of Africa?s peculiar history, which has been marked by its colonization experience. Next I discuss the potential growth impact of state fragility, a concept which reflects multiple facets of the dysfunctions that plague the continent. The last topic I address is the influence, in and out of Africa, of the slave trades. The essay ends with critical conclusions and suggestions for further research.