Development at the border : a study of national integration in post-colonial West Africa

Denis Cogneau (1, 2, 3) , Sandrine Mesplé-Somps (3, 4, 5) , Gilles Spielvogel (4, 6)

1 PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques
2 PSE - Paris School of Economics
3 IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
4 DIAL - Développement, institutions et analyses de long terme
5 Université Paris Dauphine-PSL
6 DEVSOC - UMR Développement et Sociétés

In Africa, boundaries delineated during the colonial era now divide young in-dependent states. By applying regression discontinuity designs to a large set of surveys covering the 1986-2001 period, this paper identities many large and significant jumps in welfare at the borders between five West-African countries around Cote d'Ivoire. Border discontinuities mirror the differences between country averages with respect to household income, connection to utilities and education. Country of residence often makes a difference, even if distance to capital city has some attenuating power. The results are consistent with a national integration process that is underway but not yet achieved.

Mots clés: Institutions; Africa; Geography

Domaines: Economies et finances

Denis Cogneau, Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, Gilles Spielvogel. Development at the border : a study of national integration in post-colonial West Africa. 2010. ⟨halshs-00966312⟩