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Moving Forward in Rural Ghana: Investing in Social and Human Capital Mitigates Historical Constraints

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  • David Wuepper
  • Johannes Sauer

Abstract

There is now considerable evidence to suggest that historical events have had long-term impacts on economic outcomes in Africa. What is less widely studied is the potential for mitigating such impacts. We surveyed 400 pineapple farmers in Ghana and find that both the historical dependency on different crops and the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade predict income differences in 2013. However, not all farmers are affected equally by history. Using instrumental variables to identify causal effects, we find that human and social capital are pivotal for overcoming historically inherited constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • David Wuepper & Johannes Sauer, 2017. "Moving Forward in Rural Ghana: Investing in Social and Human Capital Mitigates Historical Constraints," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 177-209, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rehdxx:v:32:y:2017:i:2:p:177-209
    DOI: 10.1080/20780389.2017.1330654
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chiara Cazzuffi & Alexander Moradi, 2010. "Why do cooperatives fail? Big versus small in Ghanaian Cocoa Producers' Societies, 1930-36," Working Paper Series 0110, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    2. Bigsten, A. & Collier, P. & Dercon, S., 2000. "Exports and Firm-Level Efficiency in African Manufacturing," Papers 2000-04, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montreal-.
    3. repec:fth:oxesaf:2000-16 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. David Wuepper & Hannes Lang & Emmanuel Benjamin, 2020. "Ancestral Ways of Life and Human Capital Formation in Kenya," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(4), pages 571-584, December.

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