Long-term consequences of colonial institutions and human capital investments: sub-national evidence from Madagascar

Abstract

This study from Madagascar exploits local variation in the timing and organization of colonial settlement and missionary education to distinguish long-run effects of colonial institutions and human capital. Results indicate that only colonial institutions had robust impacts on local economic outcomes. Analysis of transmission mechanisms suggests that these effects are explained by higher-quality property rights institutions, but not by persistence in economic activities like the production of cash crops. There are also indications that migration-induced human capital spill-overs from missionary areas contributed to superior outcomes in former settler districts