Elite Identity and Local Development in Colonial Ireland

• In Event: States, Shocks, and Development

Abstract

We study the long-run consequences of the identity of local elites for political and economic development. Between 1652-9, approximately a third of Ireland’s land was expropriated from Irish Catholic elites and redistributed to English Protestants. Leveraging the lottery-based assignment of baronies to different claimant groups, we show this exogenously predicts the share of land redistributed to Protestant elites without affecting the local concentration of land ownership. Drawing on a rich set of data sources, we find that (1) this variation persisted for two centuries; (2) areas more intensively redistributed to Protestant elites became more rural and more dependent on small-scale agriculture over time. We provide evidence consistent with these areas being worse affected during the Great Famine of 1845-9.

Authors

• Jeremy Bowles, University College London

• Michael P. Olson, Washington University in St. Louis

• Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, New York University Abu Dhabi