Black man's burden, white man's welfare: control, devolution and development in the British Empire, 1880–1914

Olivier Accominotti; Marc Flandreau; Riad Rezzik; Frédéric Zumer

doi:10.1017/S1361491609990025

Black man's burden, white man's welfare: control, devolution and development in the British Empire, 1880–1914

^*Sciences Po Paris and University of California at Berkeley, olivier.accominotti{at}sciences.po.org
^**The Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development, Geneva and CEPR, London, marc.flandreau{at}graduateinstitute.ch
^***University of Paris II, rezzik{at}gmail.com
^****University of Paris II, zumzum1{at}free.fr

Abstract

This article organizes an economic analysis of the effects of colonial rule on capital market access and development. Our insights provide an interpretation of institutional variance and growth performance across British colonies. We emphasize the degree of coercion available to British authorities in explaining alternative set-ups. White colonies, with a credible exit option, managed to secure a better deal than those where non-whites predominated, for which we find evidence of welfare losses.