Publication

This empirical study investigates the historical determinants of trust within Africa by testing for a long-term impact of the intensity of the slave trade. The authors present the historical background, theoretical framework, data sources and the empirical results on the level of interpersonal trust and trust in local institutions. They find that the number of slaves taken from an ethnic group between 1400 and 1900 is negatively correlated with the extent to which individuals from that group trust others.