Laranjinha Patricio Vieira, Vicente (2025) Does Colonizer Identity Affect Present-day Development Outcomes in Former Portuguese, French, and British Colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa? Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
This thesis assesses whether former colonial power identity (Britain, France or Portugal) matters in determining contemporary development outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using both empirical data and literature, it compares development through two measures: log GDP per capita and Human Development Index (HDI). Drawing on regression models used for a sample of 35 former colonies, the research reaches a conclusion that there is no statistically significant effect of colonizer identity on contemporary development outcomes. However, institutional quality, measured through a rule of law index, appears as an important and robust predictor of both HDI and log GDP per capita. These results support institutionalist theories of development that would lead one to expect that the quality of institutions rather than colonial origin matters more for long-run growth. Although the analysis fails to show the direct effect of colonial identity, it acknowledges the structural and ongoing effect of colonialism in the form of economic dependence, geopolitical ties, and inherited institutional frameworks.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Papakonstantinou, M.A. |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jun 2025 08:41 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Jun 2025 08:41 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/596 |
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