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Changing local customs: The long run impacts of Christian missions on female genital cutting in Africa

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  • Congdon Fors, Heather
  • Isaksson, Ann-Sofie
  • Lindskog, Annika

Abstract

We investigate the long-run impacts of Christian missions on female genital cutting (FGC) in Africa. Our empirical analysis draws on historical data on the locations of early European missions geographically matched with Demographic and Health Survey data on FGC practices of around 410,000 respondents from 42 surveys performed over a 30-year period in 14 African countries. We use ethnographic data on pre-colonial FGC to show that the location of missions was not correlated with the practice of FGC in the local population. Our benchmark estimates imply that a person living 10 km from a historical mission is 4–6 percentage points less likely to have undergone FGC than someone living 100 km from a mission site. Similarly, an additional mission per 1000 km2 in one's ancestral ethnic homeland decreases the probability of having undergone FGC by around 8 percentage points. The effect is robust to numerous specifications and control variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Congdon Fors, Heather & Isaksson, Ann-Sofie & Lindskog, Annika, 2024. "Changing local customs: The long run impacts of Christian missions on female genital cutting in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:166:y:2024:i:c:s0304387823001360
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103180
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female genital cutting; Missions; Norms; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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