The question whether institutions in Africa were shaped by the metropolitan identity of the colonizer or by local conditions is lively debated in the African economic history literature. In this paper we contribute to this debate by revealing regional differences in tax capacity in the...

This study adds the case of a Belgian colony to a literature that has mainly focused on differences in school enrollment between French and British African territories. While most studies emphasize the supply- side, especially the constraints on missionary activity, we highlight the role of...