Geography, Institutions, and the Making of Comparative Development

42 Pages Posted: 12 Jul 2012

See all articles by Raphael Auer

Raphael Auer

Swiss National Bank; Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

Date Written: July 12, 2012

Abstract

While the direct impact of geographic endowments on prosperity is present in all countries, in former colonies, geography has also affected colonization policies and, therefore, institutional outcomes. Using non-colonized countries as a control group, I re-examine the theories put forward by La Porta et al. (1999) and by Acemoglu et al. (2001), finding strong support for both theories, but also evidence that the authors’ estimates are mildly biased since they confound the effect of the historical determinants of institutions with the sizeable direct impact of geographic endowments on development.

Keywords: growth, institutions, geography, comparative development, colonialism

JEL Classification: O110, P160, P510, R110, N500, F540

Suggested Citation

Auer, Raphael, Geography, Institutions, and the Making of Comparative Development (July 12, 2012). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 3874, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2104059 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2104059

Raphael Auer (Contact Author)

Swiss National Bank ( email )

Fraumuensterstr. 8
Zurich, 8022
Switzerland

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)

Centralbahnplatz 2
Basel, Basel-Stadt 4002
Switzerland

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