Fulltext

The Wild West IS Wild: The Homicide Resource Curse

Couttenier, Mathieu ; Grosjean, Pauline ; Sangnier, Marc

In: Journal of the European Economic Association, 2017, vol. 15, no. 3, p. 558-585

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    Titel
    • The Wild West IS Wild: The Homicide Resource Curse
    Autor
    • Couttenier, Mathieu. University of Geneva
    • Grosjean, Pauline. School of Economics, University of New South Wales, and Australian School of Business
    • Sangnier, Marc. Aix-Marseille University (Aix-Marseille School of Economics), CNRS and EHESS
    Dokumententyp
    • Postprint
    Sprache
    • Englisch
    Veröffentlicht in
    • Journal of the European Economic Association, 2017, vol. 15, no. 3, p. 558-585. Oxford University Press
    Andere elektronische Ausgabe
    OAI-PMH-ID
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:332039
    Summary
    We document interpersonal violence as a dimension of the resource curse. We rely on a historical natural experiment in the United States, where mineral discoveries occurred sometimes before, sometimes after formal institutions were established in the county of discovery. In places where mineral discoveries occurred before formal institutions were established, there were more homicides per capita historically and the effect has persisted to this day. Today, the share of homicides and assaults explained by the historical circumstances of mineral discoveries is comparable to the effect of education or income. Our results imply that short-term and quasi-exogenous variations in the institutional environment can lead to large and persistent differences in cultural and institutional development. (JEL: K42, N31, O14, Z13)