Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6404
Authors: Liam Brunt
Abstract: In 1795 the British took control of the Cape colony (South Africa) from the Dutch; and in 1843 they exogenously changed the legal basis of landholding, giving more secure property rights to landholders. Since endowments and other factors were held constant, these changes offer clean tests of the effects on economic growth of colonial identity and secure property rights. The effects of both changes were immediate, positive and large. Other legal and institutional changes, such as the move to a common law system in 1827, had no such effects on economic growth.
Keywords: Economic Growth; Legal Origins; Property Rights
JEL Codes: N47; O43
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| British takeover in 1795 (N93) | economic growth (O49) |
| introduction of secure property rights in 1843 (P14) | economic growth (O49) |
| secure property rights (P14) | agricultural productivity (Q11) |
| British governance (H11) | economic conditions (E66) |
| Dutch landholding system (Q15) | property rights security (P14) |
| English landholding system (Q15) | property rights security (P14) |