Elite Identity and Political Accountability: A Tale of Ten Islands

Abstract Emancipation of slaves in the 1830s transformed the political elites of the British Caribbean plantation islands. New elites were more accountable to the citizenry. We develop a theory in which two factors limit and possibly reverse the effect of this on political outcomes, with legislators...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Economic journal (London) Vol. 130; no. 631; pp. 1995 - 2029
Main Authors Carvalho, Jean-Paul, Dippel, Christian
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.10.2020
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Summary:Abstract Emancipation of slaves in the 1830s transformed the political elites of the British Caribbean plantation islands. New elites were more accountable to the citizenry. We develop a theory in which two factors limit and possibly reverse the effect of this on political outcomes, with legislators: (i) ‘stepping up’ to pass extractive policies; and/or (ii) weakening democratic institutions. The theory is supported by an historical analysis of ten Caribbean plantation islands, based on original archival data on legislator race, occupation and roll-call voting. Eventually, all assemblies that experienced a significant change in composition dissolved themselves and converted to British ‘Crown Rule’.
ISSN:0013-0133
1468-0297
DOI:10.1093/ej/ueaa018