Contributions

  • Lakshmi Iyer - Contributor
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics - Contributor

Publication

2002 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics, Cambridge, MA, Massachusetts

Language

English

Word Count

7,250 words, Guess

Page Count

29 pages

Identifiers

Description

Do historical institutions have a persistent impact on economic performance? We analyze the colonial institutions set up by the British to collect land revenue in India, and show that differences in historical property rights institutions lead to sustained differences in economic outcomes. Areas in which proprietary rights in land were historically given to landlords have significantly lower agricultural investments, agricultural productivity and investments in public goods in the post-Independence period than areas in which these rights were given to the cultivators. We verify that these differences are not driven by omitted variables or endogeneity of the historical institutions, and argue that they probably arise because differences in institutions lead to very different policy choices.Keywords: History, land tenure, development. JEL Classifications: O11, P16, P51

Subjects

Series Statement

  • Working paper series / Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Economics -- working paper 02-27
  • Working paper (Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics) -- no. 02-27.

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