Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities : Studying Development Across the Americas

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dc.creatorGallego, Francisco A.
dc.creatorBruhn, Miriam
dc.date2012-05-30T17:16:45Z
dc.date2012-05-30T17:16:45Z
dc.date2008-06
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-01T01:13:04Z
dc.descriptionLevels of economic development vary widely within countries in the Americas. This paper argues that part of this variation has its roots in the colonial era. Colonizers engaged in different economic activities in different regions of a country, depending on local conditions. Some activities were "bad" in the sense that they depended heavily on the exploitation of labor and created extractive institutions, while "good" activities created inclusive institutions. The authors show that areas with bad colonial activities have lower gross domestic product per capita today than areas with good colonial activities. Areas with high pre-colonial population density also do worse today. In particular, the positive effect of "good" activities goes away in areas with high pre-colonial population density. The analysis attributes this to the "ugly" fact that colonizers used the pre-colonial population as an exploitable resource. The intermediating factor between history and current development appears to be institutional differences across regions and not income inequality or the current ethnic composition of the population.
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dc.formattext/plain
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/06/9496791/good-bad-ugly-colonial-activities-studying-development-across-americas
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/6661
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-4641
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/416196
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relationPolicy Research Working Paper No. 4641
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rightshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.rightsWorld Bank
dc.subjectACCESS TO EDUCATION
dc.subjectAGE DISTRIBUTION
dc.subjectAGRICULTURE
dc.subjectBENCHMARKS
dc.subjectCALCULATIONS
dc.subjectCASH CROPS
dc.subjectCENSUS
dc.subjectCENTRAL AMERICA
dc.subjectCENTRAL AMERICAN
dc.subjectCENTRAL BANK
dc.subjectCHECKS
dc.subjectCIVIL RIGHTS
dc.subjectCOMMODITIES
dc.subjectCONTACT POPULATION
dc.subjectCONTRIBUTION
dc.subjectDECENTRALIZATION
dc.subjectDISCRIMINATION
dc.subjectDUAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
dc.subjectECONOMIC ACTIVITY
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectECONOMIC HISTORY
dc.subjectECONOMIC OUTCOMES
dc.subjectECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectECONOMIC POWER
dc.subjectECONOMIES OF SCALE
dc.subjectEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
dc.subjectEQUAL ACCESS
dc.subjectETHNIC GROUPS
dc.subjectFUTURE RESEARCH
dc.subjectGDP
dc.subjectGDP PER CAPITA
dc.subjectGOVERNMENT POLICIES
dc.subjectGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
dc.subjectGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD INCOME
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subjectHUMAN CAPITAL
dc.subjectHUMAN DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectIMMIGRATION
dc.subjectIMPACT OF POPULATION
dc.subjectINCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subjectINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectLABOR FORCE
dc.subjectLABOR SUPPLY
dc.subjectLAND TENURE
dc.subjectLEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectMALARIA
dc.subjectMORTALITY
dc.subjectNATIONAL LEVEL
dc.subjectNATIONAL POLICIES
dc.subjectNATIVE POPULATION
dc.subjectNATURAL ENVIRONMENT
dc.subjectNATURAL RESOURCES
dc.subjectORGANIZATIONAL FORM
dc.subjectPOLICY RESEARCH
dc.subjectPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
dc.subjectPOLITICAL POWER
dc.subjectPOPULATION DENSITY
dc.subjectPOPULATION ESTIMATES
dc.subjectPOVERTY RATE
dc.subjectPOVERTY RATES
dc.subjectPROBABILITY
dc.subjectPRODUCTION FUNCTION
dc.subjectPROGRESS
dc.subjectPROPERTY OWNERSHIP
dc.subjectPROPERTY RIGHTS
dc.subjectPUBLIC GOODS
dc.subjectRESEARCH ASSISTANCE
dc.subjectRESPECT
dc.subjectSOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
dc.subjectSOCIAL SCIENCES
dc.subjectSOCIETAL NORMS
dc.subjectSOURCE OF INFORMATION
dc.subjectTRANSPORTATION
dc.subjectTRAUMA
dc.subjectUNEMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectUNIONS
dc.subjectVALUABLE
dc.subjectWEALTH
dc.titleGood, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities : Studying Development Across the Americas

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