Climate and the slave trade

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Fenske, James; Kala, Namrata
• 署名单位: University of Oxford; Yale University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.10.001
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 19-32
• 关键词: climate; AFRICA; Slave trade

摘要

African societies exported more slaves in colder years. Lower temperatures reduced mortality and raised agricultural yields, lowering slave supply costs. Our results help explain African participation in the slave trade, which predicts adverse outcomes today. We use an annual panel of African temperatures and port-level slave exports to show that exports declined when local temperatures were warmer than normal. This result is strongest where African ecosystems are least resilient to climate change. Cold weather shocks at the peak of the slave trade predict lower economic activity today. We support our interpretation using the histories of Whydah, Benguela, and Mozambique. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.