2019
DOI: 10.1017/s0022278x19000077
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Measuring and explaining formal institutional persistence in French West Africa

Abstract: Colonial institutions are thought to be highly persistent, but measuring that persistence is difficult. Using a text analysis method that allows us to measure similarity between bodies of text, we examine the extent to which one formal institution – the penal code – has retained colonial language in seven West African countries. We find that the contemporary penal codes of most countries retain little colonial language. Additionally, we find that it is not meaningful to speak of institutional divergence across… Show more

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Cited by 2 publications
(1 citation statement)
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“…Laws' consequentiality and accessibility make them a unique type of primary data and a critical data point as both an outcome of political processes and a cause of socio‐legal phenomena. Social scientists study laws to understand numerous social phenomena, including colonial legacies, constitutions, immigration, elections, state repression of civil society, and norm‐breaking presidential appointments (Berinzon & Briggs, 2019; Blake et al, 2021; Cook‐Mart'ın & FitzGerald, 2019; Glasius et al, 2020; Hummel et al, 2021; Kinane, 2021). Despite their importance and accessibility, researchers do not always account for the content within legal texts in the manner that they should, and this article proposes a remedy.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Laws' consequentiality and accessibility make them a unique type of primary data and a critical data point as both an outcome of political processes and a cause of socio‐legal phenomena. Social scientists study laws to understand numerous social phenomena, including colonial legacies, constitutions, immigration, elections, state repression of civil society, and norm‐breaking presidential appointments (Berinzon & Briggs, 2019; Blake et al, 2021; Cook‐Mart'ın & FitzGerald, 2019; Glasius et al, 2020; Hummel et al, 2021; Kinane, 2021). Despite their importance and accessibility, researchers do not always account for the content within legal texts in the manner that they should, and this article proposes a remedy.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%