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Growth, History, or Institutions? What Explains State Fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Graziella Bertocchi
  • Andrea Guerzoni

Abstract

We explore the determinants of state fragility in sub-Saharan Africa. Controlling for a wide range of economic, demographic, geographic and istitutional regressors, we find that institutions, and in particular the civil liberties index and the number of revolutions, are the main determinants of fragility, even taking into account their potential endogeneity. Economic factors such as income growth and investment display a non robust impact after controlling for omitted variables and reverse causality. Colonial variables reflecting the history of the region display a marginal impact on fragility once institutions are accounted for.

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  • Graziella Bertocchi & Andrea Guerzoni, 2010. "Growth, History, or Institutions? What Explains State Fragility in Sub-Saharan Africa," Center for Economic Research (RECent) 044, University of Modena and Reggio E., Dept. of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    • Handle: RePEc:mod:recent:044
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    Cited by:

    1. Adedeji Adeniran & Mma Amara Ekeruche & Chimere O. Iheonu, 2022. "The Quality Of Budgetary Institutions In Africa: Exploring The Drivers," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 67(232), pages 127-152, January –.
    2. Bertocchi, Graziella, 2011. "Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development: In and Out of Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 5856, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2017. "The African origins of Euro-American development: Pins on an empirical roadmap," MPRA Paper 79925, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Faith Osasumwen Olanrewaju & Adekunle Olanrewaju & Femi Omotoso & Joshua Olaniyi Alabi & Emmanuel Amoo & Ejiroghene Loromeke & Lady Adaina Ajayi, 2019. "Insurgency and the Invisible Displaced Population in Nigeria: A Situational Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, April.
    5. Yapatake Kossele Thales Pacific, 2020. "Fragility of State in Central African Republic: An Econometric Approach to Efficiency Understanding," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(3), pages 681-697, June.
    6. Pacific K. T. Yapatake, 2018. "Fragility of State in Central African Republic: An Econometric Approach to Efficiency Understanding," CEREDEC Working Papers 18/002, Centre de Recherche pour le Développement Economique (CEREDEC).
    7. Fenske, James, 2010. "Institutions in African history and development: A review essay," MPRA Paper 23120, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Cervellati, Matteo & Jung, Florian & Sunde, Uwe & Vischer, Thomas, 2012. "Income, Democracy, and Critical Junctures," IZA Discussion Papers 7069, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Guillaumont, Patrick & McGillivray, Mark & Wagner, Laurent, 2017. "Performance Assessment, Vulnerability, Human Capital, and the Allocation of Aid Among Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 17-26.
    10. Antonio Ribba, 2014. "Sources of unemployment fluctuations in the USA and in the Euro Area in the last decade," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 34(2), pages 681-694.
    11. Francisco Gutiérrez Sanín & Diana Buitrago & Andrea González, 2013. "Aggregating Political Dimensions: Of the Feasibility of Political Indicators," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 305-326, January.
    12. Simon Feeny & Alberto Posso & Jonathan Regan-Beasley, 2015. "Handle with care: fragile states and the determinants of fragility," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(11), pages 1073-1085, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    State fragility; Africa; institutions; colonial history;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

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