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

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities: Studying Development across the Americas PDF Author: Miriam Bruhn
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Country Population Profiles
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description
Abstract: Levels 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.

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

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities: Studying Development across the Americas PDF Author: Miriam Bruhn
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Country Population Profiles
Languages : en
Pages : 58

Get Book Here

Book Description
Abstract: Levels 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.

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities PDF Author: Miriam Bruhn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 58

Get Book Here

Book Description
Levels 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 quot;badquot; in the sense that they depended heavily on the exploitation of labor and created extractive institutions, while quot;goodquot; 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 quot;goodquot; activities goes away in areas with high pre-colonial population density. The analysis attributes this to the quot;uglyquot; 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.

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities PDF Author: Miriam Bruhn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Levels 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.

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities

Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities PDF Author: Miriam Bruhn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic book
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects

Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects PDF Author: Olukunle P. Owolabi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197673023
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
An examination of the divergent developmental legacies of forced settlement and colonial occupation on both sides of the Black Atlantic world. The European powers that colonized much of the world over the last few hundred years created a variety of social systems in their various colonies. In Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects, Olukunle P. Owolabi explores the divergent developmental trajectories of Global South nations that were shaped by forced settlement, where European colonists imported African slaves to establish large-scale agricultural plantations, or by colonial occupation, which resulted in the exploitation of indigenous non-white populations. Owolabi shows that most forced settlement colonies emerged from European domination with higher levels of education attainment, greater postcolonial democratization, and favorable human development outcomes relative to Global South countries that emerged from colonial occupation after 1945. To explain this paradox, he examines the distinctive legal-administrative institutions that were used to control indigenous colonial subjects and highlights the impact of liberal reforms that expanded the legal rights and political agency of former slaves following abolition. Spanning three centuries of colonial history and postcolonial development, this is the first book to systematically examine the distinctive patterns of state-building that resulted from forced settlement and colonial occupation in the Black Atlantic world.

Urbanization and Growth

Urbanization and Growth PDF Author: Michael Spence
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821375741
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Why is productivity higher in cities? Does urbanization cause growth or does growth cause urbanization? Do countries achieve rapid growth or high incomes without urbanization? How can policy makers reap the benefits of urbanization without paying too high a cost? Does supporting urbanization imply neglecting rural areas? Why do so few governments welcome urbanization? What should governments do to improve housing conditions in cities as they urbanize? Are innovations in housing finance a blessing or a curse for developing countries? How will governments finance the trillions of dollars of infrastructure spending needed for cities in developing countries? First in a series of thematic volumes, this book was prepared for the Commission on Growth and Development to evaluate the state of knowledge of the relationship between urbanization and economic growth. It does not pretend to provide all the answers, but it does identify insights and policy levers to help countries make urbanization work as part of a national growth strategy. It examines a variety of topics: the relevance and policy implications of recent advances in urban economics for developing countries, the role of economic geography in global economic trends and trade patterns, the impacts of urbanization on spatial inequality within countries, and alternative approaches to financing the substantial infrastructure investments required in developing-country cities. Written by prominent academics in their fields, Urbanization and Growth seeks to create a better understanding of the role of urbanization in growth and to inform policy makers tackling the formidable challenges it poses.

The Oxford Handbook of Economic Imperialism

The Oxford Handbook of Economic Imperialism PDF Author: Zak Cope
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197527086
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 697

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Book Description
"The Oxford Handbook of Economic Imperialism examines unequal commercial, trade, and investment gains at the international level and explores how countries and nations can have exploitative relations. The book contains thirty-four chapters written by academics and experts in the field of international political economy. The chapters in the Handbook look at the history of economic imperialism from the early modern age to the present. They demonstrate the persistence of economic imperialism in today's postcolonial world and the enduring control wielded by great powers even after the end of formal empire. The book reveals how emerging powers are expanding economic control in new geographic and geopolitical contexts. The Handbook highlights the significance of economic imperialism in the structures, relations, processes, and ideas that help sustain poverty and conflict worldwide"--

Roots of Underdevelopment

Roots of Underdevelopment PDF Author: Felipe Valencia Caicedo
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031387236
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 602

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Book Description
This book brings together world-renowned experts and rising scholars to provide a collection of chapters examining the long-term impact of historical events on modern-day economic and political developments in Latin America. It uses a novel approach, stressing empirical contributions and state-of-the-art empirical methods for causal identification. Contributing authors apply these cutting-edge tools to their topics of expertise, giving readers a compendium of frontier research in the region. Important questions of colonialism, migration, elites, land tenure, corruption, and conflict are examined and discussed in an approachable style. The book features a conclusion from Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford University. This book is critical reader for scholars and students of economic history, political science, political economy, development studies, and Latin American, and Caribbean studies.

Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies

Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies PDF Author: David Collier
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 153816616X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
Over the past 50 years, scholars across the social sciences have employed critical juncture analysis to understand how social orders are created, become entrenched, and change. In this book, leading scholars from several disciplines offer the first coordinated effort to define this field of research, assess its theoretical and methodological foundations, and use a critical assessment of current practices as a basis for guiding its future. Contributors include stars in this field who have written some of the classic works on critical junctures, as well as the rising stars of the next generation who will continue to shape historical comparative analysis for years to come. Critical Junctures and Historical Legacies will be an indispensable resource for social science research methods scholars and students.

Voyagers

Voyagers PDF Author: Lauren Fuge
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 1922791830
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
A journey through history and across the planet, Voyagers shows how exploration has led humanity to the brink of destruction—and how it might help us face the challenges of the future