Working Paper: NBER ID: w20092
Authors: Daron Acemoglu; Isaas N. Chaves; Philip Osafo-Kwaako; James A. Robinson
Abstract: A fundamental problem for economic development is that most poor countries have 'weak state' which are incapable or unwilling to provide basic public goods such as law enforcement, order, education and infrastructure. In Africa this is often attributed to the persistence of 'indirect rule' from the colonial period. In this paper we discuss the ways in which a state constructed on the basis of indirect rule is weak and the mechanisms via which this has persisted since independence in Sierra Leone. We also present a hypothesis as to why the extent to which indirect rule has persisted varies greatly within Africa, linking it to the presence or the absence of large centralized pre-colonial polities within modern countries. Countries which had such a polity, such as Ghana and Uganda, tended to abolish indirect rule since it excessively empowered traditional rulers at the expense of post-colonial elites. Our argument provides a new mechanism which can explain the positive correlation between pre-colonial political centralization and modern public goods and development outcomes.
Keywords: Indirect Rule; State Weakness; Sierra Leone; Comparative Politics; Public Goods
JEL Codes: D7; H11
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| indirect rule in Sierra Leone (F54) | difficulty in establishing a monopoly of violence (D74) |
| traditional rulers create a class of alienated youth (O17) | undermining state authority (H77) |
| traditional rulers are relatively unaccountable (H11) | extract rents and underprovide public goods (H49) |
| fewer ruling families (D72) | more power for paramount chiefs (H11) |
| more power for paramount chiefs (H11) | worse development outcomes (I15) |
| political dynamics post-independence (F54) | persistence of indirect rule (F54) |
| ruling elites exploiting the system (P16) | weak state incapable of providing essential public services (H76) |