The local variability of rainfall and tribal institutions: the case of Sudan

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization • Vol/Iss. 39(1999) • Elsevier • • Published In • Pages: 263-291 •
By Nugent, Jeffrey B., Sanchez, Nicholas

Hypothesis

Tribal societies in Sudan that experience more local spatial rainfall variability will be more likely to establish more common property rights.

Note

Common property rights are defined as an institution whereby "all members have access to all land controlled by a tribe."

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Two Step Least Squares RegressionSupported5 of 6 variables in predicted directionR^2=0.742UNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Population DensityIndependentPopulation
Rainfall VariationIndependentClimate
% rural economic activity in agricultureIndependentTillage
CentralizationIndependentTerritorial Hierarchy
Mean monthly rainfallIndependentClimate
Rain distributionIndependentClimate
Openness of propertyDependentProperty System