Working Paper: NBER ID: w18177
Authors: Daron Acemoglu; Camilo Garcajimeno; James A. Robinson
Abstract: Slavery has been a major institution of labor coercion throughout history. Colonial societies used slavery intensively across the Americas, and slavery remained prevalent in most countries after independence from the European powers. We investigate the impact of slavery on long-run development in Colombia. Our identification strategy compares municipalities that had gold mines during the 17th and 18th centuries to neighboring municipalities without gold mines. Gold mining was a major source of demand for slave labor during colonial times, and all colonial gold mines are now depleted. We find that the historical presence of slavery is associated with increased poverty and reduced school enrollment, vaccination coverage and public good provision. We also find that slavery is associated with higher contemporary land inequality.
Keywords: slavery; development; Colombia; gold mining; long-run effects
JEL Codes: H41; N96; O10; O54
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| historical presence of slavery (N91) | higher poverty rates (I32) |
| historical presence of slavery (N91) | lower educational attainment (I24) |
| historical presence of slavery (N91) | lower vaccination coverage (I13) |
| historical presence of slavery (N91) | higher land inequality (D31) |