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Concessions, Violence, and Indirect Rule: Evidence from the Congo Free State

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  • Sara Lowes
  • Eduardo Montero
Abstract
All colonial powers granted concessions to private companies to extract natural resources during the colonial era. In Africa, these concessions were characterized by indirect rule and violence. We use the arbitrarily defined borders of rubber concessions granted in the north of the Congo Free State to examine the causal effects of this form of economic organization on development. We find that historical exposure to the concessions causes significantly worse education, wealth, and health outcomes. To examine mechanisms, we collect survey and experimental data from individuals near a former concession boundary. We find that village chiefs inside the former concessions provide fewer public goods, are less likely to be elected, and are more likely to be hereditary. However, individuals in the concessions are more trusting, more cohesive, and more supportive of sharing income. We interpret our results as reflecting how institutions and culture may act as substitutes in the context of the widespread colonial concession system.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Lowes & Eduardo Montero, 2021. "Concessions, Violence, and Indirect Rule: Evidence from the Congo Free State," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 136(4), pages 2047-2091.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:136:y:2021:i:4:p:2047-2091.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/qje/qjab021
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    Cited by:

    1. Jean-Paul Faguet & Camilo Matajira & Fabio Sánchez-Torres, 2022. "Constructive extraction? Encomienda, the colonial state, and development in Colombia," Documentos CEDE 20105, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    2. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2021. "Does title increase large farm productivity? Institutional determinants of large land-based investments' performance in Zambia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315328, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Federico, Giovanni & Bisin, Alberto, 2021. "Merger or acquisition? An introduction to the Handbook of Historical economics," CEPR Discussion Papers 15795, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Davide Cantoni & Noam Yuchtman, 2020. "Historical Natural Experiments: Bridging Economics and Economic History," NBER Working Papers 26754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Afonso, Roberta & Miller, Daniel C., 2021. "Forest plantations and local economic development: Evidence from Minas Gerais, Brazil," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Fenske, James & Wang, Shizhuo, 2023. "Tradition and mortality: Evidence from twin infanticide in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    7. Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Deininger, Klaus, 2022. "Institutional determinants of large land-based investments’ performance in Zambia: Does title enhance productivity and structural transformation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    8. Arthur Blouin, 2022. "Culture and Contracts: The Historical Legacy of Forced Labour," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(641), pages 89-105.
    9. Remi Jedwab & Felix Meier zu Selhausen & Alexander Moradi, 2022. "The economics of missionary expansion: evidence from Africa and implications for development," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 149-192, June.
    10. Faguet, Jean-Paul & Matajira, Camilo & Sánchez, Fabio, 2024. "Encomienda, the colonial state, and long-run development in Colombia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122257, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Mattia C. Bertazzini, 2023. "The effect of settler farming on indigenous agriculture: Evidence from Italian Libya," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(1), pages 31-59, February.
    12. Vrolijk, Kasper, 2023. "How does globalisation affect social cohesion?," IDOS Discussion Papers 5/2023, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    13. Eder, Christoph & Halla, Martin & Hilmbauer-Hofmarcher, Philipp, 2024. "The Long-Term Effects of Military Occupations: Evidence from Post-World War II Austria," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 366, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    14. Bühler, Mathias & Madestam, Andreas, 2023. "State Repression, Exit, and Voice: Living in the Shadow of Cambodia's Killing Fields," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277610, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. Soeren J Henn & James A Robinson, 2023. "Africa's Latent Assets," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 9-34.
    16. Mathias Bühler & Andreas Madestam, 2023. "State Repression, Exit, and Voice," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 408, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    17. James J. Feigenbaum & Soumyajit Mazumder & Cory B. Smith, 2020. "When Coercive Economies Fail: The Political Economy of the US South After the Boll Weevil," NBER Working Papers 27161, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Paz, Santiago, 2023. "Long Run Consequences of Ethnic Conflict On Social Capital: Evidence from South Africa," Documentos CEDE 20923, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    19. Ratnoo, Vigyan D., 2024. "Persistent effects of colonial land tenure institutions: Village-level evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    20. Catherine Guirkinger & Paola Villar, 2022. "Pro-birth policies, missions and fertility : historical evidence from Congo," DeFiPP Working Papers 2204, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    21. Henrique Barros & Rute Martins Caeiro & Sam Jones & Patricia Justino, 2024. "The legacy of coercive cotton cultivation in colonial Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2024-12, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    22. Jin, Gan, 2023. "Circle of fortune: The long-term impact of Western customs institution in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    23. César Huaroto & Francisco Gallego, 2023. "The Legacy of the Spanish Conquista in the Andes: Mining Mita, Persistent Social Unrest, and Cultural Divergence," Documentos de Trabajo 568, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    24. Abagna, Matthew Amalitinga & Hornok, Cecília & Mulyukova, Alina, 2024. "Place-based policies and household wealth in Africa," Kiel Working Papers 2263, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • N47 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Africa; Oceania
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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