This excellent book rethinks the consequences of extractive colonial institutions. Analyzing the importance of early legal rights, Owolabi explains the puzzle of why countries in the West Indies have experienced better development outcomes than those in West Africa. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in colonialism, development, and democracy.
Olukunle P. Owolabi is an associate professor of political science at Villanova University, where he teaches courses on Comparative Politics, African Politics, comparative democratization, and the developmental legacies of colonialism. His research examines the developmental legacies of forced settlement and colonial occupation in the Global South and has been published in Comparative Politics. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.Phil in Latin American studies from Oxford University.