About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

23 Cato J. 227 (2003-2004)
Explaining Botswana's Success: The Critical Role of Post-Colonial Policy

handle is hein.journals/catoj23 and id is 233 raw text is: EXPLAINING BOTSWANA'S SUCCESS: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF POST-COLONIAL POLICY Scott A. Beaulier Most economists agree that private property, the rule of law, and free markets are crucial for economic development, but there is still disagreement over what other factors determine why some nations are rich while others are poor. Jeffrey Sachs (2001) and Sachs and Warner (1995, 1997) argue that climate, geography, proximity to the coast, and distance from the equator are significant determinants of economic growth (see also Diamond 1997). By contrast, North (1981), North and Thomas (1973), and Rosenberg and Birdzell (1986) insist that a particular set of institutions-namely, polycentric gover- nance, the rule of law, and a rich respect for private property-have led to the West growing rich. More recently, Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (2001), hereafter AJR, argue that geography and demography matter because they affect the quality of institutions: During colonialism, low-quality in- stitutions were established in regions with high-population densities and low life expectancies. By contrast, regions with low-population densitites and high life expectancies established better institutions. Thus, sub-Saharan Africa was left with bad institutions because colo- nists in Africa faced low life expectancies and tried to colonize areas with large populations. The incentive for colonists was to expropriate rents as quickly as possible rather than think of the long run. Each theory has some explanatory power, yet each has its prob- lems. As Gregory Mankiw (1995: 303-7) points out, our traditional econometric tools cannot sort out the causes of economic growth because our models are constrained by multicollinearity, simultaneity, Cato journal, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Fall 2003). Copyright © Cato Institute. All rights reserved. Scott Beaulier is a Global Prosperity Initative (GPI) Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He thanks Peter Boettke, Bryan Caplan, Tyler Cowen, Eric Cramp- ton, Benjamin Powell, John Robert Subrick, Richard Wagner, the participants at the 2003 Association of Private Enterprise Education conference in Las Vegas, the participants at the Mereatus Center brovn bag series, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and criticism. He also thanks the Mercatus Center for financial support. 227

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most