The economics of missionary expansion: evidence from Africa and implications for development
利用加纳1751-1932年及43个撒哈拉以南非洲国家的传教数据，发现疟疾、铁路和经济作物影响传教地点选择，传教扩张的内生性可能被低估，质疑传教与非洲经济发展的因果关系。
Abstract How did Christianity expand in Africa to become the continent’s dominant religion? Using annual panel census data on Christian missions from 1751 to 1932 in Ghana, and pre-1924 data on missions for 43 sub-Saharan African countries, we estimate causal effects of malaria, railroads and cash crops on mission location. We find that missions were established in healthier, more accessible, and richer places before expanding to economically less developed places. We argue that the endogeneity of missionary expansion may have been underestimated, thus questioning the link between missions and economic development for Africa. We find the endogeneity problem exacerbated when mission data is sourced from Christian missionary atlases that disproportionately report a selection of prominent missions that were also established early.