A lot has been written about the negative consequences of the slave trades, both for the origin regions (Nunn 2008) and for their destinations (Engerman and Sokoloff 2011; Fourie 2011). But investigating slavery can add to our understanding of economic theory: Suresh Naidu, for example, use newspaper reports of runaway slaves in the United States to argue that the weak enforcement of property rights in people (i.e. slavery) discouraged investment in slaves and encouraged investment in manufacturing and infrastructure. Instead of the traditional link between strong property rights and economic growth, Naidu's research suggests that the weak enforcement of "bad" property rights can also lead to a favourable long-run outcome. Listen to him
Slavenomics
Slavenomics
Slavenomics
A lot has been written about the negative consequences of the slave trades, both for the origin regions (Nunn 2008) and for their destinations (Engerman and Sokoloff 2011; Fourie 2011). But investigating slavery can add to our understanding of economic theory: Suresh Naidu, for example, use newspaper reports of runaway slaves in the United States to argue that the weak enforcement of property rights in people (i.e. slavery) discouraged investment in slaves and encouraged investment in manufacturing and infrastructure. Instead of the traditional link between strong property rights and economic growth, Naidu's research suggests that the weak enforcement of "bad" property rights can also lead to a favourable long-run outcome. Listen to him