Agenda > Tous les événements

 Denis Cogneau

 Paris School of Economics (PSE), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

“Fiscal Capacity and Dualism in Colonial States: The French Empire 1830-1962”

(with Yannick Dupraz & Sandrine Mesplé-Somps)

Abstract: A novel data collection provides comparative evidence on colonial states of the “second” French colonial empire, from their foundation to their devolution in the 1960s. Colonial states were neither omnipotent Leviathans nor casual night watchmen. On the one hand, we emphasize the extractive efficiency and capacity of adaptation of colonial states to different socioeconomic contexts and varying historical conditions. On the other hand, we put forward dualism as their main common feature and legacy. Colonial public expenditure was biased towards the needs of French settlers and capitalists. It was also costly, as high wages had to be paid to expatriated civil servants.