Die Kolonialursprünge der vergleichenden Entwicklungsforschung: eine skeptische Anmerkung
[journal article]
Abstract
"This note casts skepticism over various hypothesis formulated by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001) in reaching the conclusion that institutions cause economic development. The author has identified four major issues in the study. It lacks adequate econometric specification and relies only on, ... view more
"This note casts skepticism over various hypothesis formulated by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001) in reaching the conclusion that institutions cause economic development. The author has identified four major issues in the study. It lacks adequate econometric specification and relies only on, what the author termed, destiny variables. Secondly, the historical record does not support the author's theory that mortality rate determine Europeans strategy for institutions they intended to develop in the host country; thirdly, given current living standards and disease ridden environment in low and middle income countries, the claim that disease environment of early 19th century was neutral to economic development seems farfetched; finally, assuming that initial institutions caused present institutions put in question the developmental efforts of past half century and thus is more than a sweeping generalization." (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
economic development (on national level);
economic history; institutional factors; theory; Europe; standard of living; nineteenth century;
econometrics; Great Britain; United States of America; protectionism; democracy; suffrage;
illness; determinants; mortality;
Africa; Asia; developing country;
comparative research; North America
Classification
National Economy
General History
Sociology of Developing Countries, Developmental Sociology
Method
empirical; quantitative empirical; historical
Document language
English
Publication Year
2012
Page/Pages
p. 362-370
Journal
Historical Social Research, 37 (2012) 2
DOI
//doi.org/10.12759/hsr.37.2012.2.362-370
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0
Abstract
Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson's (2001) seminal article argues property-rights institutions powerfully affect national income, using estimated mortality rates of early European settlers to instrument capital expropriation risk. However, 36 of the 64 countries in the sample are assigned mortality rates from other countries, often based on mistaken or conflicting evidence. Also, incomparable mortality rates from populations of laborers, bishops, and soldiers—often on campaign—are combined in a manner that favors the hypothesis. When these data issues are controlled for, the relationship between mortality and expropriation risk lacks robustness, and instrumental-variable estimates become unreliable, often with infinite confidence intervals. (JEL D02, E23, F54, I12, N40, O43, P14)Citation
Albouy, David Y. 2012. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation: Comment." American Economic Review, 102 (6): 3059-76. DOI: 10.1257/aer.102.6.3059Additional Materials
- Data Set (11.75 KB)
JEL Classification
- D02 Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations
- E23 Macroeconomics: Production
- F54 Colonialism; Imperialism; Postcolonialism
- I12 Health Production
- N40 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: General, International, or Comparative
- O43 Institutions and Growth
- P14 Capitalist Systems: Property Rights
- Simon Johnson
- James A. Robinson
- American Economic Review
- vol. 91, no. 5, December 2001
- (pp. 1369-1401)
(Complimentary)
- Article Information
Abstract
We exploit differences in European mortality rates to estimate the effect of institutions on economic performance. Europeans adopted very different colonization policies in different colonies, with different associated institutions. In places where Europeans faced high mortality rates, they could not settle and were more likely to set up extractive institutions. These institutions persisted to the present. Exploiting differences in European mortality rates as an instrument for current institutions, we estimate large effects of institutions on income per capita. Once the effect of institutions is controlled for, countries in Africa or those closer to the equator do not have lower incomes.Citation
Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson. 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation." American Economic Review, 91 (5): 1369-1401. DOI: 10.1257/aer.91.5.1369JEL Classification
- O11 Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- P51 Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
- I12 Health Production
- N10 Economic History: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Growth and Fluctuations: General, International, or Comparative
- O57 Comparative Studies of Countries