Using cross-country differences in the degree of isolation before the advent of technologies in sea and air transportation, we assess the relationship between geographic isolation and financial development across the globe. We find that pre-historic geographical isolation has been beneficial to...

The paper extends Breggren et al. (2008, EE) on "trust and growth: a shaky relationship" by incorporating recent developments in the trust-growth literature and using a robust methodological underpinning that accounts for the presence of outliers. The empirical evidence is based on 63 countries....

This article examines the role of cognitive ability or intelligence on slave expor ts from Africa. We test a hypothesis that countries which were endowed with higher levels of cognitive ability were more likely to experience lower levels of slave exports from Africa probably due to comparatively...

One of the most disturbing contemporary episodes in human history that has been decried globally is the recent Libyan experience of slave trade, where migrants captured end-up being sold as slaves. We contribute to the understanding of this phenomenon by investigating the role of cognitive human...

Crimes and conflicts are seriously undermining African development. This article assesses the best governance tools in the fight against the scourges. The following findings are established. (1) Democracy, autocracy and voice & accountability have no significant negative correlations with crime....

This paper investigates the effects of religion on a broad set of development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. We regroup these outcomes into three broad categories, namely, development process outcomes (growth, investment, conflict, and government quality), institutional outcomes (property...

This study aims at testing the relationship between intelligence and governance. It is based on African data. This study find s that countries with high-IQ populations generally enjoy good governance. Governance and Intelligence are found to mutually reinforce each other in a robust relationship...

This paper investigates the effects of religion on a broad set of development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. We regroup these outcomes into three broad categories, namely, development process outcomes (growth, investment, conflict, and government quality), institutional outcomes (property...

This study aims at testing the relationship between intelligence and governance. It is based on African data. This study find s that countries with high-IQ populations generally enjoy good governance. Governance and Intelligence are found to mutually reinforce each other in a robust relationship...

Drawing from the literature on the determinants of corruption, this article examines the relationship between corruption and the nature of state of fragility. Robust empirical evidence shows a correlation between the level of corruption and state fragility. In a further assessment with the...