National Institutions and Subnational Development in Africa

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Michalopoulos, Stelios; Papaioannou, Elias
• 署名单位: Brown University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of London; London Business School
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjt029
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 151-213
• 关键词: regression discontinuity designs; origins; determinants; culture; HISTORY; IMPACT

摘要

We investigate the role of national institutions on subnational African development in a novel framework that accounts for both local geography and cultural-genetic traits. We exploit the fact that the political boundaries on the eve of African independence partitioned more than 200 ethnic groups across adjacent countries subjecting similar cultures, residing in homogeneous geographic areas, to different formal institutions. Using both a matching type and a spatial regression discontinuity approach we show that differences in countrywide institutional structures across the national border do not explain within-ethnicity differences in economic performance, as captured by satellite images of light density. The average noneffect of national institutions on ethnic development masks considerable heterogeneity partially driven by the diminishing role of national institutions in areas further from the capital cities. JEL Codes: O10, O40, O43, N17, Z10.