Political scientists often turn to natural experiments to draw causal inferences with
observational data. Recently, the regression discontinuity design (RD) has become a …

This paper compares economic outcomes across areas in India that were under direct
British colonial rule with areas that were under indirect colonial rule. Controlling for selective …

I evaluate the impact of education on polygamy in Africa. Districts of French West Africa that
received more colonial teachers and parts of sub-Saharan Africa that received Protestant or …

Colonial institutions are thought to be an important determinate of post-independence levels
of political stability, economic growth, and public goods provision. In particular, many …

We study research designs where a binary treatment changes discontinuously at the border
between administrative units such as states, counties, or municipalities, creating a treated …

Colonial state institutions are widely cited as a root cause of sub-Saharan African
underdevelopment, but the opinions differ on the channels of causation. Were African …

Historical evidence from the industrialized world suggests that the expansion of the modern
state's capacity to tax eventually led to more democratic and less corrupt governments …

The land abundance view of African history uses sparse population to explain pre‐colonial
land tenure and slavery. I document the geographical forcing variables that predict land …

Many empirical applications of regression discontinuity (RD) models use a running variable
that is rounded and hence discrete, eg age in years, or birth weight in ounces. This paper …

While improving government performance is a key challenge for state development, we still
know little about what factors affect citizens' toleration of poor performance by government …