Sunlight, culture and state capacity

This paper examines the impact of ultraviolet radiation (UV‐R) on state capacity. The results indicate that the intensity of UV‐R is a strong predictor of cross‐country differences in state capacity. Countries with a higher degree of UV‐R exposure tend on average to have weaker states. This finding remains unaffected after controlling for different variables that may be correlated with both UV‐R and state capacity, including an extensive set of geographical, historical and contemporary factors. The observed link between sunlight and state capacity is not driven by potential outliers and is robust to the employment of alternative measures of state capacity, estimation methods and other sensitivity checks. Furthermore, the analysis also reveals that the individualistic–collectivist dimension of culture acts as a transmission channel connecting UV‐R and state capacity. The estimates show that a lower degree of UV‐R exposure leads to the adoption of individualistic values, which in turn contribute to the development of state capacity.