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Colonialism, Elite Formation and Corruption

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  • Angeles, Luis
  • Neanidisy, Kyriakos C.

Abstract

This paper argues that corruption in developing countries has deep historical roots; going all the way back to the characteristics of their colonial experience. The degree of European settlement during colonial times is used to dfferentiate between types of colonial experience, and is found to be a powerful explanatory factor of present-day corruption levels. The relationship is non-linear, as higher levels of European settlement resulted in more powerful elites (and more corruption) only as long as Europeans remained a minority group in the total population.

Suggested Citation

  • Angeles, Luis & Neanidisy, Kyriakos C., 2010. "Colonialism, Elite Formation and Corruption," SIRE Discussion Papers 2010-51, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    • Handle: RePEc:edn:sirdps:188
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Angeles, 2011. "Institutions, Property Rights, and Economic Development in Historical Perspective," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 157-177, May.
    2. Angeles, Luis, 2012. "Is there a role for genetics in economic development?," SIRE Discussion Papers 2012-08, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).

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