ABSTRACT

Does the legacy of direct colonial rule, through its impact on property rights security, affect rural development in Africa? Although mainstream economic theory links secure property rights to development, extant micro-level evidence from the continent remains mixed. We take advantage of a natural experiment in Namibia, exploiting as-if random application of direct colonial rule that later affected property rights security. Using detailed census data and matching on underlying climatic conditions, we find evidence of more commercialized agricultural cultivation in directly ruled areas. We relate this finding to differing tenure regimes. In formerly indirectly ruled areas where land is still allocated by traditional elites, own-account agricultural activity for the market and living standards lag behind formerly directly ruled regions. Our work has direct implications for students of colonial legacies and land tenure regimes.

摘要

直接殖民统治的遗产，通过其对产权安全的影响，是否会影响非洲的农村发展？尽管主流经济学理论将可靠的产权与发展联系在一起，但非洲大陆现有的微观证据仍然参差不齐。我们利用在纳米比亚进行的自然实验，利用了直接殖民统治的随机应用，后来又影响了财产安全。通过使用详细的人口普查数据并根据基本气候条件进行匹配，我们发现了直接统治地区农业商业化种植的更多证据。我们将此发现与不同的权属制度联系起来。在以前仍然由传统精英统治的间接统治地区，自有市场的农业活动和生活水平落后于以前直接统治的地区。