Abstract: This paper examines the effects of pre-colonial institutions on economic development in Latin America using historical ethnic homelands as the unit of analysis. We construct a newly digitised and georeferenced map of 257 ethnic homelands. Our results show a strong and positive relationship between pre-colonial institutions and contemporary economic development. Beyond the role of pre-existing institutions, our dataset provides a foundation for future research on long-run development in Latin America.
Keywords: Pre-colonial institutions, Ethnic homelands, Development, Latin America
JEL Codes: N00, N26, O10, 054
Cite as: Aldo Elizalde, Sotiris Kampanelis, Pre-colonial institutions and economic development in Latin America: Evidence from a new ethnic homeland dataset, Economics Letters, Volume 254, 2025, 112482, ISSN 0165-1765, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112482
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