Colonial Legacy and Rural Development in Namibia

• In Event: Poster Session: Comparative Politics in Developing Countries I

Abstract

Does the legacy of direct colonial rule lead to development? Many existing studies suffer from omitted variable bias, loosely defined and hard-to-test mechanisms, as well as the fact that direct colonial rule presented a compound treatment whose various causal effects are difficult to disaggregate. We take advantage of a natural experiment in Namibia, exploiting as-if random application of direct colonial rule in the north of the country. Utilizing the finely-measured enhanced vegetation index, we find that formerly directly ruled areas are characterized by comparatively more effective agricultural cultivation. We link this finding to differing tenure regimes. In areas where land is allocated by traditional chiefs, agricultural production lags. In regions where ownership of land is secured as private property, agricultural production increases. Areas controlled by chiefs further exhibit lower levels of migration, which might explain less efficient agricultural production due to its reliance on migrant labor.

Authors

• Vladimir Chlouba, The Ohio State University

• Jianzi He, The Ohio State University