Working Paper: NBER ID: w14783
Authors: Nathan Nunn; Leonard Wantchekon
Abstract: We investigate the historical origins of mistrust within Africa. Combining contemporary household survey data with historic data on slave shipments, we show that individuals whose ancestors were heavily raided during the slave trade today exhibit less trust in neighbors, relatives, and their local government. We confirm that the relationship is causal by using the historic distance from the coast of a respondent's ancestors as an instrument for the intensity of the slave trade, while controlling for the individual's current distance from the coast. We undertake a number of falsification tests, all of which suggest that the necessary exclusion restriction is satisfied. Exploiting variation among individuals who live in locations different from their ancestors, we show that most of the impact of the slave trade works through factors that are internal to the individual, such as cultural norms, beliefs, and values.
Keywords: Slave Trade; Trust; Africa; Cultural Norms; Economic Development
JEL Codes: N00; O10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| historic distance from the coast (N91) | intensity of the slave trade (N73) |
| intensity of the slave trade (N73) | trust (G21) |
| historic distance from the coast (N91) | trust (G21) |
| slave trade (J47) | persistent culture of mistrust (Z13) |
| slave trade (J47) | internal mechanisms (cultural norms and beliefs) (Z13) |
| slave trade (J47) | external institutional factors (O36) |