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The legacies of slavery in and out of Africa

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  • Graziella Bertocchi

    (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, CEPR and IZA)

Abstract

The slave trades out of Africa represent one of the most significant forced migration experiences in history. In this paper, I illustrate their long-term consequences on contemporaneous socio-economic outcomes, drawing from my own previous work on the topic and from an extensive review of the available literature. I first consider the influence of the slave trade on the “sending” countries in Africa, with attention to their economic, institutional, demographic, and social implications. Next, I evaluate the consequences of the slave trade on the “receiving” countries in the Americas. Here, I distinguish between the case of Latin America and that of the USA. Overall, I show that the slave trades exert a lasting impact along several contemporaneous socio-economic dimensions and across diverse areas of the world. JEL Classification: J47, J15, O15, N30, P48, Z10

Suggested Citation

  • Graziella Bertocchi, 2016. "The legacies of slavery in and out of Africa," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:5:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1186_s40176-016-0072-0
    DOI: 10.1186/s40176-016-0072-0
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Yes, slavery matters
      by chris in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2017-03-04 19:07:38

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    Cited by:

    1. Stelios Michalopoulos & Elias Papaioannou, 2020. "Historical Legacies and African Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(1), pages 53-128, March.
    2. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2020. "Bitter Sugar: Slavery and the Black Family," GLO Discussion Paper Series 564, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2020. "COVID-19, Race, and Redlining," GLO Discussion Paper Series 603, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Leoné Walters & Carolyn Chisadza & Matthew Clance, 2024. "Slave trades, kinship structures and women's political participation in Africa," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(3), pages 734-758, August.
    5. Cherniwchan, Jevan & Moreno-Cruz, Juan, 2019. "Maize and precolonial Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 137-150.
    6. Ancy Liyana A & Anu Baisel, 2023. "Exploring The Convergence of Social Disparities and Interracial Relationships in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Invention of Wings," Studies in Media and Communication, Redfame publishing, vol. 11(4), pages 149-158, June.
    7. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo & Tedeschi, Gian Luca, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," IZA Discussion Papers 15042, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Oasis Kodila-Tedika & Martin Mulunda Kabange, 2016. "Slave trade and Human Trafficking," Research Africa Network Working Papers 16/002, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    9. Millicent N. Robinson, 2022. "Pushing Past Limits: How Efficacious Is High-Effort Coping for Self-Rated Health among African American and Caribbean Black Women?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico, 2020. "COVID-19, Race, and Redlining," Department of Economics 0175, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    11. Gershman, Boris, 2020. "Witchcraft beliefs as a cultural legacy of the Atlantic slave trade: Evidence from two continents," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    12. Graziella Bertocchi & Angelo Dimico & Gian Luca Tedeschi, 2022. "Strangers and Foreigners: Trust and Attitudes toward Citizenship," Department of Economics 0200, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    13. Graziella Bertocchi & Arcangelo Dimico, 2020. "Bitter Sugar: Slavery and the Black Family," Department of Economics 0172, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    14. Johan Fourie & Nonso Obikili, 2019. "Decolonizing with data: The cliometric turn in African economic history," Working Papers 02/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    15. Luigi Brighi & Marcello D'Amato, 2017. "Strategic Effects of Investment and Private Information: The Incumbent’s Curse," Center for Economic Research (RECent) 134, University of Modena and Reggio E., Dept. of Economics "Marco Biagi".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female Labor Force Participation; Slave Trade; Slave Labor; Great Migration; African Slave;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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