| By: |
Cermeño, Alexandra L. (Lund University);
Quintigliano, Alessandra (Sapienza University of Rome);
Weisdorf, Jacob (Sapienza University of Rome, CAGE, & CEPR) |
| Abstract: |
Africa's historical borderlands are persistently associated with low levels of
economic development. This paper examines how these regions respond to
development interventions, analysing whether the long-run development
advantage associated with colonial Christian missions persists near historical
homeland borders. Combining georeferenced data on 3, 365 pioneering mission
stations with high-resolution satellite night-time luminosity data, we show
that the positive association between proximity to missionary activity and
contemporary economic development weakens sharply in these borderland areas.
This result is robust across a wide range of specifications and is
corroborated by evidence on household wealth and human capital from the
Demographic and Health Surveys Program. Our findings suggest that the success
of development initiatives in the historical borderlands reflects not only the
interventions themselves, but also the institutional environments in which
they were implemented. |
| Keywords: |
Africa, missionaries, development, borderlands, night-time luminosity, spatial analysis. JEL Classification: O1, F35, N10, N17 |
| Date: |
2026 |
| URL: |
https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:822 |