Why is Polygyny More Prevalent in Western Africa? An African Slave Trade Perspective
29 Pages Posted: 31 May 2011 Last revised: 13 May 2012
Date Written: May 13, 2012
Abstract
Polygyny rates are higher in Western Africa than in Eastern Africa. The African slave trades explain this difference. More male slaves were exported in the trans-Atlantic slave trades from Western Africa, while more female slaves were exported in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea slave trades from Eastern Africa. The slave trades led to prolonged periods of abnormal sex ratios, which impacted the rates of polygyny across Africa. In order to assess these claims, we present evidence from a variety of sources. We find the trans-Atlantic slave trades have a positive correlation with historical levels of polygyny across African ethnic groups. We also construct an ethnic group level data set linking current rates of polygyny with historical trade flow data from the trans-Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades. We find the trans-Atlantic slave trades cause polygyny at the ethnic group level, while the Indian Ocean slave trades do not. We provide cross-country evidence corroborating our findings.
Keywords: slave trades, polygyny, Africa, development
JEL Classification: F14, J12, N17, O55
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Long-Term Effects of Africa's Slave Trades
By Nathan Nunn
-
Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa
By Nathan Nunn and Diego Puga
-
Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa
By Nathan Nunn and Diego Puga
-
The Modern Impact of Precolonial Centralization in Africa
By Nicola Gennaioli and Ilia Rainer
-
The Importance of History for Economic Development
By Nathan Nunn
-
Economic and Political Inequality in Development: The Case of Cundinamarca, Colombia
By Daron Acemoglu, M B, ...
-
Economic and Political Inequality in Development: The Case of Cundinamarca, Colombia
By Daron Acemoglu, M B, ...
-
By Daron Acemoglu and Martin Kaae Jensen
-
Inequality and Redistribution: Evidence from U.S. Counties and States, 1890-1930
-
The Persistent Effects of Peru's Mining Mita
By Melissa Dell