Tree crops have changed land tenure in Africa. Farmers have acquired permanent, alienable rights, but have also faced disputes with competing claimants and the state. Para rubber had many similar effects in the Benin region of colonial Nigeria. Farmers initially obtained land by traditional...

The existing literature on the relationship between property rights in land and agricultural investment in Africa has given results that are often confusing and contradictory. I make two clarifying contributions to this literature. First, I pull together existing studies and investigate whether...

African societies exported more slaves in colder years. Lower temperatures reduced mortality and raised agricultural yields, lowering slave supply costs. Our results help explain African participation in the slave trade, which predicts adverse outcomes today. We use an annual panel of African...