Join us in our upcoming Applied Economics Seminar at the Graduate Center organized by Professor Agbeyegbe, Hunter College & Graduate Center.

A lecture by:
Professor Belinda Archibong, Barnard College, Columbia University
“Where Local Kings Rule: Long-Term Impacts of Precolonial Institutions and Geography on Access to Public Infrastructure Services in Nigeria”

Abstract:

Although previous works have discussed the benefits of precolonial centralization for development in Africa, the findings and the mechanisms provided do not explain the heterogeneity in access to public services of formerly centralized states. Using new survey data from Nigeria, I find a significant negative effect of centralization on access to certain public services in centralized regions whose leaders failed to comply with the autocratic federal regime, and whose jurisdictions were subsequently punished by under investment in these services, with lasting impacts till today. The results are robust to extensive controls and instrumenting for precolonial centralization with an ecological diversity index.

Paper available here.

Date: Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Time: 12:00pm-1:45pm

Location: 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY

Room: 5383

Travel Directions to The Graduate Center:
By Subway: B, D, F, N, R, or Q to 34th Street-Herald Square; walk east to 5th Avenue 6 to 33rd Street.
By Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M16, M34, Q32.