Things fall apart? Missions, institutions, and interpersonal trust

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Okoye, Dozie
• 署名单位: Dalhousie University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102568
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: trust; culture; institutions; missions; colonization; Indirect Rule; AFRICA

摘要

This paper studies the links between changes in traditional communities, due to historical Christian missionary activities, and differences in interpersonal trust between Africans today. We use various data on Christian missions to show that missions are associated with lower levels of trust within countries formerly under British indirect rule, but increased trust for all other countries. This result is robust to a variety of confounders and fixed ethnic characteristics. Using data on native prisons and prisoners in Nigeria, and Pew surveys in Africa, we demonstrate that the negative effects may be explained by weakened traditional institutions, norms, and beliefs, due to missionary activities under indirect rule.