HPS³ - Volha Charnysh - Consequences of the Black Sea Slave Trade: Long-Run Development in Eastern EuropeWe welcome Andrea Isoni on Wednesday, 29 May 2024 to the HPS Seminar Series

5 June 2024, 5:15 pm

The Hamburg Political Science Seminar Series (HPS³) features international speakers presenting cutting-edge research in empirical political science and political economy.

We welcome on Wednesday, 05 June 2024 17:15-18:45 CET in VMP9 A 411

Volha Charnysh(MIT)

Title:Consequences of the Black Sea Slave Trade: Long-Run Development in Eastern Europe  (with Ranjit Lall, University of Oxford)

Abstract:​ We study the consequences of slave-raiding in Eastern Europe, the largest source of commercial slaves in the early modern worldafter West Africa. Drawing on a wide-ranging new dataset, we estimate that at least 5 million people were enslaved from more than 730 locations in the Black Sea region between the 15th and 18th centuries. Pursuing a difference-in-differences and instrumental variables strategies, we find that raids accelerated urban population growth and led to superior developmental outcomes in the long run. These results reflectan economically advantageous process of defensive state-building that resulted from the threat of raids. Consistent with this mechanism,exposure to raids predicts higher density of fortifications and greater administrative, military, and fiscal capacity. Our findings caution against generalizing conclusions about slavery's consequences from the African context, suggesting that the structure of slave production plays a key role in conditioning such effects.

The HPS³ seminars take place  in person at the UHH. Please find the preliminary program on the HPS³ Website.

We invite everyone interested to attend the HPS Seminar Series and are looking forward to seeing you.