Same Same but Different? A Comparison of Institutional Models

Abstract

In the growing literature on the creation of institutions, the theories emphasizing colonial and legal origin, religious affiliation, Western European influence, and settler mortality, have been especially influential. The influence of these studies rests heavily on empirical modeling, which, since the theories are obviously closely related, might actually capture the same primary mechanism. It is therefore unclear whether the empirical relationships found are the same or if they are different. Therefore, this paper takes the empirical models seriously and discriminates amongst the existing models by using modeling selection criteria, tests of encompassing, and modeling selection.