Regional favoritism and human capital accumulation in Africa

Arbeitspapier

We study the long-run implications of regional and ethnic favoritism in Africa. Combining geocoded individual-level survey data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) with data on national leaders' birthplaces across 41 African countries, we explore the educational attainment of adults who were exposed to favoritism at various points during their life. We find that generic male respondents exposed to regional favoritism during their adolescence have higher educational attainment later in life. This higher human capital accumulated by men leads to more stable employment. For generic women, we observe no beneficial effects of regional favoritism. However, those women who belong to the same ethnic group as their national leader witness an increase in their educational attainment. These results indicate that regular inhabitants rather than only a narrow elite benefit from regional favoritism.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 21-030

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
• Subject: Favoritism ; human capital ; gender discrimination ; democracy ; spatiality ; Africa

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Asatryan, Zareh ; Baskaran, Thushyanthan ; Hufschmidt, Patrick ; Stöcker, Alexander
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/232944
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET