PRE-COLONIAL ETHNIC

INSTITUTIONS AND
CONTEMPORARY
AFRICAN
DEVELOPMENT
STELIOS MICHALOPOULOS AND ELIAS PAPAIOANNOU

Econometrica, Vol. 81, No. 1, January 2013, 113152

Lluis
Aragons
Ferri

Contents
1. Literature Review
2. Data
3. Ethnic Homeland
Analysis
4. Pixel-Level Analysis
5. Conclusion

1. Literature Review

Literature Review

Institutional origins of African

underdevelopment
Acemoglu,
Johnson,
and
Robinson (2001, 2002) and La
Porta, de Silanes, Shleifer, and
Vishny (1997, 1998): empirical
impact
of
colonization
in
comparative development effect on
contractual
institutions
and
property rights protection in Africa.
Herbst (2000): role of deeply
rooted,
ethnic
institutional
characteristics.

Ethnic Institutions: Past & Present

Herbst (2000), Europeans had
limited impact on local political
structures because colonization
limited in timing & location.
Mamdani (1996), colonizers in
several occasions strengthened
tribal chiefs via indirect rule.
Englebert (2009), eve of African
independence, failure of some
countries limiting the role of
ethnic institutions, as lack of
national government to provide
public goods.

Literature Review

Importance of ethnic institutions

Baldwin (2010), ethnic local

chiefs community support and
popularity.

Glennerster, Miguel, and

Rothenberg (2010), Acemoglu,
Reed, and Robinson (2012), In
many countries, Local leaders
collect taxes & provide basic
public goods.

Channels through which ethnic

institutions shape contemporary
economic activity.
Diamond (1997) and Acemoglu
and Robinson (2012), study how
ethnic groups forming large
states organized bureaucracies.
Acemoglu and Robinson (2012),
Tribal societies with strong
political institutions more
successful obtaining concessions
from colonial powers & national
governments after
independence.

2. Data

Data on the location

of historical ethnic
homelands
George Peter Murdocks (1959)
ethnolinguistic map (Spatial distribution
of ethnicities across Africa at beginning
of European colonization mid/late 19th
century).
843 tribal areas (levels 7-8 of
Ethnologues (2005) language family
tree).
Nun & Wantcheckon (2011) using
individual data Afrobarometer, showed
0.55 correlation between location of the
respondents (2005) & historical homeland
of their ethnicity.

This
study
intersect
Murdocks
ethnolinguistic map with 2000 Digital
Chart of the World for contemporary
national boundaries.

Ethnic Institutional
Traits
Murdock
(1967)
produced
an
Ethnographic Atlas, coding aprx. 60
variables (cultural, geographical &
economic characteristics) of 1270
ethnicities in the world.
Clustering into 96 ethnolinguistic
families.
Murdocks
(1967)
Hierarchy index:

Jurisdictional

0: stateless societies
1: Petty chiefdoms
2: Paramount chiefdoms.
3 & 4: Pre-colonial states.

Satellite Light
Density at Night
Use satellite light density at night (proxy of
local economic activity), from the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Programs Operational
Linescan System. Capturing lights from human
settlements, fires, gas flares, lighting & aurora.
Construct average light density per
for
2007 & 2008.
Henderson, Storeygard, and Weil (2012) and
previous works (e.g., Elvidge, Baugh, Kihn,
Kroehl, and Davis (1997), Doll, Muller, and
Morley (2006)). The use of luminosity data is as a
proxy for development, showing that light density
at night is a robust proxy of economic activity.
Even Chen and Nordhaus (2011), shortcomings
(saturation and blooming), not big problem in
Africa.

Cross-validation: Satellite
Light Density at Night /
Development
1st) Explore within country variation.
2nd) Examined relationship between log light
density & economic performance using microlevel data from Demographic and Health
Surveys (DHS)(Composite wealth index).
3rd) Derive average wealth index across
households and associate it with light density of
each DHS area, radius (10km). Correlation 0.7.

3. Ethnic Homeland
Analysis

Empirical framework
Relationship between pre-colonial ethnic institutions and development
across ethnic homelands. Variants of this form:
, =
+ +
+
+ , Where:
, +
,
, : Level of economic activity in homeland of ethnic group I, country c (proxied
by light density at night).
Shortcomings: as distribution of luminosity across ethnic homelands not
normal.
, ln(0.01 +

, ) For use of all observations.

, ln(
, ) Ignoring unlit areas.

: Country fixed effects.

: Local ethnic institutions (degree of jurisdictional hierarchy).

), likely endogenous to ethnic institutional

, = ln(
development. (
,
, )0
, : Set of conditioning variables at ethnic-country level. Geography and other
factors. As land endowments (elevation and area under water), ecological
features (malaria stability index, land suitability for agriculture), natural
resources (diamond mines & petroleum fields) and location ethnic area within a
country (distance of centroid of each ethnicity I in country c from capital,
national border and nearest sea coast, measuring impact of colonization).

Annex A.1

Table II (Preliminary Evidence)

,

ln(0.01 +

Table III (Benchmark Fixed Effects)

,

).

Table IV
A)

)
)
+

,
,

+
+

ln 0.01 +

4. Pixel-Level Analysis

Advantages Pixel
Level
The unit of analysis: pixel of 12.5km x 12.5km. Exclude pixels with 0
population through Probit Linear model. Advantages pixel level:
1. Can condition on geography, natural resources & the disease environment
at a finer level.
2. Dependent variable=indicator for lit pixels (not concern on nonlinear nature
of luminosity).

Empirical framework

,,

,,

,,

,,

Same specifications, but reduction in some controls to a pixel level.

,,

: Other controls at pixel level, p.

Table V
,,

,,

,,

,,

Contiguous Ethnic
Homeland Analysis
One may still be worried that unobservable local geographic feature is
driving the results:
Solution: focus on contiguous ethnicities with a different degree of precolonial political centralization in same country.

Specification:
, ( ), =

,,

,,

, ( ),

Not X

Table VI. Validation

,,

, ( ),

Further Evidence
To further assuage concerns that some local unobserved geographic
feature is driving the results analysis to pixels close to ethnic boundary.
(Similar to regression discontinuity).
Procedure: Estimation in areas close to ethnic boundaries, excluding
pixels that fall within 25km or 50km from each side of border. Within
adjacent ethnic homelands with different pre-colonial political institutions
in same country.

Table VIII Panel A

, ( ),

, ( ),

Table VIII Panel B

, ( ),

,,

,,

, ( ),

Discontinuity
Analysis
Visualization

Figure 5(A), including boundary

pixels, differences are insignificant
exactly at the ethnic border.

Figure 5(B), excluding 25km at

each side of the ethnic border,
differences in pixel-level light
density become significant.

Conclusion
Combination of data on spatial distribution and local institutions of
African ethnicities (colonization time), with satellite images of light density
at night, to asses development.
Development higher in homelands of ethnicities with centralized,
hierarchical, pre-colonial political institutions. (Not necessarily causation).
No effect of observable differences in geographic, ecological, natural
resource endowments, culture, occupational specialization or structure of
economic activity before colonization.
Positive link between pre-colonial ethnic political institutions and
luminosity within pairs of ethnic homelands in same country.
Future Research
1. Move beyond country-level and ethnicities features.
2. Which ethnic institutional & cultural traits shape economic performance.
3. Theory and empirics on how local ethnic institutions and cultural norms
emerge.
4. Interplay between ethnic traits and national policies.

Thank you for your

attention!!
Any questions?

You can find me at laragones@alumni.unav.es

Annex Table I

Table III

Table VII