Africa and Latin America secured their independence from European colonial rule a century and half apart: most of Latin … America after 1820 and most of Africa after 1960. Despite the distance in time and space, they share important similarities … about a half-century (lost decades). The parallels suggest that Africa might be exiting from a period of post …

effect on income. However, in Africa rugged terrain afforded protection to those being raided by slave traders. Since the … slave trade retarded subsequent economic development, in Africa ruggedness also has had a historical indirect positive … Africa the indirect positive effect dominates the direct negative effect. Looking within Africa, we provide evidence that the …