Regional development and national identity in sub-Saharan Africa

We study how regional development affects identification with the nation state using a sample of 192 African regions in 16 countries. We measure national identification with survey data from the fourth wave of the Afrobarometer and proxy regional development with night lights data. To account for the endogeneity of regional development, we employ an instrumental variables approach and use a proxy for mineral resource wealth as our main instrument. Our results show that inhabitants of more prosperous regions are more likely to identify with their nation rather than their ethnic group. Regarding transmission channels, we find suggestive evidence consistent with the interpretation that national identification is higher in richer regions because of different cultural beliefs and a lower reliance on traditional ethnic networks. Overall, our research implies that African governments can foster national identification by ensuring that all parts of a country participate equitably in economic development. Journal of Comparative Economics 45 (2017) 622-643. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; University of Siegen, Holderlinstr. 3, 57076 Siegen, Germany. (C) 2016 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.