Political centralization in pre-colonial Africa

Journal of Comparative Economics Vol/Iss. 41(1) Elsevier Published In Pages: 6-21
By Osafo-Kwaako, Philip, Robinson, James A.

Hypothesis

Levels of sovereignty will be predicted by population density, frequency of being attacked, and trade in the worldwide sample, but not in the Africa sub-sample.

Note

The authors created an interaction term between an Africa indicator variable and population density, frequency of being attacked, and trade. Trade in the Africa sample had no significance, even though significant in the worldwide sample. Population density and being attacked in Africa resulted in significant relationships, however, trending in the opposite direction (pop density: b= -0.29 to -0.31; p<.05. Being attacked: b = -0.65 to -.079; p < .1) compared with the whole sample (b= 0.38-0.39; p<.01).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Ordinary least square regressionSupportedUNKNOWNUNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Frequency Of Being AttackedIndependentWarfare
Population DensityIndependentPopulation
TradeIndependentExternal Trade
Africa Control and InteractionLocation
Levels of sovereigntyDependentTerritorial Hierarchy