Pre‐colonial ethnic institutions and contemporary African development
Econometrica • Vol/Iss. 81(1) • Blackwell Publishing Ltd • • Published In • Pages: 113-152 •
By Michalopoulos, Stelios, Papaioannou, Elias
Hypothesis
Political centralization among pre-colonial African ethnic institutions is positively associated with contemporary regional development (114).
Note
The authors use several geographic controls, as well as several measures of pre-colonial political centralization (including jurisdictional hierarchy p < 0.05 r = 0.15, binary political centralization p < 0.05 r = 0.29, presence of petty chiefdoms p > 0.10, presence of paramount chiefdoms p > 0.10, and presence of pre-colonial states p < 0.05 r = 0.47) and various delineations of ethnic homeland boundaries in order to rigorously validate their results.
| Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression | Supported | p < 0.05 | r = 0.1493 | UNKNOWN |
| Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdictional Hierarchy | Independent | Judicial Authority, Territorial Hierarchy |
| Political Centralization | Independent | Territorial Hierarchy |
| Paramount Chiefdoms | Independent | Territorial Hierarchy |
| Pre-Colonial States | Independent | Territorial Hierarchy, Form And Rules Of Government |
| Satellite Light Density at Night | Dependent | Production And Supply |