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That's debatable, to say the least. One can make the argument that British colonialism was primarily (no surprises here) extractive, not developmental. And apparently to some extent it shows in the empirical pattern[1].

None of these arguments are 100% proof of course, but they should at least weigh in on one's priors, I think.

[1] http://www.people.hbs.edu/liyer/iyer_colonial_oct2004.pdf



Virtually all governments are extractive. Governments are simply property owners that happen to own an entire country.

If you are lucky, you get a stationary bandit that extracts, but does not want to kill the golden goose. The stationary bandit wants to act as a gardener and grow production.

If you are unlucky, you get a roving bandit that will pillage as much as possible in the short term, not caring about long-term growth.

It strikes me that the corruption of the Indian government is much more akin to a roving bandit. Each official wants his share, no matter the impact on growth for the nation as a whole.


What are you on about? Did you fail to notice the past few centuries of republicanism?




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