We combine information on the spatial distribution of ethnicities before colonization with regional variation in contemporary economic performance, as proxied by satellite images of light density at night. We document a strong association between pre-colonial ethnic political centralization and regional development. This pattern is not driven by differences in local geographic features or by other observable ethnic-specific cultural and economic variables.
A new paper by Stelios Michalopoulos and Elias Papaioannou.
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RT @cblatts: States are persistent http://t.co/AHqzzR47
RT @cblatts: States are persistent http://t.co/QxJ6aqaW
States are persistent http://t.co/yORvsBAU
States are persistent http://t.co/H14lXTbQ“
RT @cblatts: States are persistent http://t.co/AHqzzR47