French Colonialism in North Africa:Preliminary Results of the Afristory project

Denis Cogneau (PSE-IRD)with Hédi Brahimi (PSE)

Work in progress Please do not quote

From colonial to presentPreemptive colonization in Africa end-19th century

(competition between European nations) Little ‘development’, or capitalist exploitation Minimal administration + economic extraction Legacy of ‘gatekeeper states’ today (Cooper)

However settlement colonies were different More capital, more wage labor, larger States Racial separatism more salient / violent ‘Enclave’ economy

What was left when settlers were ousted?

QuestionsComparing Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco

also Indochina, AOF, AEF, MadagascarAlgeria : colony governed by settlers, at least after 1870 or 1900Tunisia & Morocco: protectorates metropolitan govt had more say

Others: non-settler

1) How the size of the State varied across colonies?

2) Was there ‘development’ outside of the ‘settler enclave’ and in which dimensions?

3) Political economy: Who paid? / Who benefitted? Incidence analysis of taxation and expenditures + international transfers

Missing dataVery few works in quantitative economic history of

colonized areas in Africa or Asia, and even fewer of the comparative kind

British Empire: Davis & Huttenback (1986) for 1860-1912, Booth (2007) for E/SE Asia 1900-1960

French North Africa:- Nouschi (1961) on Constantine area 1830-1919 - Amin (1966) on economic accounts of colonization and decolonization (Maghreb)- Marseille (1984) on the costs-benefits of Empire

« Afristory » project (1st part)

Exhaustive Pub. Fin. data for the 19th c. French Empire: Algeria (1830), Indochina (1871, GG: 1899), Tunisia (1881), Madagascar

(1898), Western Africa (1865, GG: 1905), Equatorial Africa (1899, GG: 1910), Morocco (1913), Togo & Cameroon (1920)

Federal governments, territories, provinces, municipalities + Metropolitan ministerial budgets+ Appendix budgets for public loans+ Data on population, health, schooling, production…

*: Dates of first budget, not necesarily for the whole territory, due to the conquest. GG: date of « General Government » first budget. Syria-Lebannon (1920-45) is still to be included.

Top-incomes in former colonieswith Alvaredo, Atkinson and Piketty

Income tax was introduced in British and French colonies after WW1

Measurement of inequality at the top

- Alvaredo & Atkinson (2011) on South Africa- Atkinson (2013) on other British colonies of Africa- Alvaredo, Cogneau & Piketty (ongoing) on French colonies

(Algeria, Tunisia, Indochina, Cameroon)

Caution

Data are difficult:DemographyPrices and incomesChanges in administrative layersCategorization of expenditure & revenue…

A few preliminary results

1. Colonial State not too different in size in Algeria compared to Tunisia, Morocco lagging

2. Development outcomes not too ≠ either, as of 1937 or 1955- Income level and income inequality- Health and infrastructure

3. However higher dualism in Algeria?Repression of indigenous education, visible after WW2

(see also Kateb 2004, Sraieb 1993)

French Empire: Population 1936

23,250,000

15,463,000

3,797,900

2,341,000

3,421,749

7,234,684

6,296,000

2,608,313

IndochineAOF + TogoMadagascarCamerounAEFAlgérieMarocTunisie

Syria-Lebanon and earlier colonies (West Indies, Indian Ocean, Pacific) not included

Metropolis: 41,905,968. Total French Empire: 64,412,646.

Europeans and French (1936)

Européens (%)

Dont Français (%)

Israélites non français (%)

Algérie 13.6 10.4 -

Tunisie 8.2 4.1 2.3

Maroc 3.8 2.4 2.6

Indochine 0.2 - -

Madagascar 1.0 - -

A.O.F. + Togo 0.2 - -

A.E.F. 0.1 - -

Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Wage levelsPurchasing power of unskilled workers' wages around 1938

(A) Daily wage

(francs)

(B) Price of

1600 kcal per day in rice or wheat

(francs)

(C)= (A)/(B) Wage ratio

Algérie 16.4 1.6 10.4

Tunisie 20.0 1.5 13.1

Maroc 6.8 1.1 6.1

Indochine 2.5 0.7 3.4

Madagascar - 0.9 -

A.O.F. (capitales) 4.5 - -

A.E.F. (Brazzaville) 3.8 1.2 3.0

(A): Salaire minimum du manoeuvre non spécialisé (sauf Indochine: salaire moyen) (B): Retail price of 441g of rice (Indochine, Madagascar, AEF), or 472 g of wheat flour (Algérie, Tunisie, Maroc) Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Size of the colonial State (1)Non-military public expenditures per capita, 1937 francs

1870 1913 1937 1955 France métropolitaine(a) 194 390 1,052 3,490 With social security transfers 194 390 1,125 5,218

Algérie(b) 72 201 282 741 With social security transfers 72 201 282 930

Tunisie(c) - 169 213 625 Maroc(c) - 25 107 370 Indochine(d) - 47 40 - Madagascar(d) - 49 65 195 A.O.F. (avec Togo)(d) - 30 44 128 A.E.F. (hors Cameroun)(d) - 30 52 193(e)

(a): Including counties and municipalities, excluding debt service, and social security. Source: André, Delorme, Terny (1973). (b): Gouvernement général, départements et communes (c): Budget du gouvernement (d): Gouvernement général, territoires, et budgets annexes d'emprunts (y.c. FIDES) (e): 1952. Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

1871 1913 1937 1955France 5% 6% 13% 29%Algérie 5% 9% 10% 26%Tunisie 11% 9% 23%Maroc 5% 15%Non-military. Debt service and Social security transfers not included

France: André, Delorme, Terny (1973)

GDP figures for Algérie, Tunisie, Maroc: Amin (1966)

Size of the colonial state (2):Share of State expenditures in GDP

Enclave State?Counterfactual exercise: Public spending per capita among indigenous people if Europeans "receive" the metropolitan figure 1913 1937 1955 Europeans 390 1050 3,800

Algerians 173 160 424

Tunisians 152 138 425

Moroccans 16 70 216

Indochinese 46 39 -

Malagasy 48 58 153

A.O.F. (avec Togo) 29 42 116

A.E.F. (hors Cameroun) 30 51 177

Top-income shares 1955Top 1% Top 0.1% Top 0.01%

Algérie 10,8% 2,9% 0,7%Tunisie 10,5% 2,9% 0,8%South Rhodesia 7,4% 1,8%

North Rhodesia 4,9% 1,2%

South Africa 14,4% 3,6%

France 9,3% 2,5% 0,7%

Algérie & Tunisie: Alvaredo, Cogneau & Piketty (2014)

British colonies: Atkinson (2013) and Alvaredo & Atkinson (2011); France: Piketty (2009)

Caution: preliminary estimates, subject to changesTunisie: 1) Europeans made 80% of top 1%, 0.1% or 0.01%

2) Around 20% Europeans (resp. 1.2% Tunisians) paid the tax3) Top 0.1%: 50% of Europeans are salaried, 25% of Tunisians4) More equal distributions within groups: Top 1% around 7%

Infrastructure Public spending

infrastructure per capita

1937 (1937 francs)

Kwh per capita

1937

Kwh per capita

1955

Métropole - 433.4 1,158.7

Algérie 89.9 35.3 92.2

Tunisie 42.1 19.4 58.2

Maroc 26.6 21.2 85.9

Indochine 8.3 5.9 -

Madagascar 13.1 3.4 11.5

A.O.F. + Togo 11.9 0.5 6.0

A.E.F. 18.7 0.3 8.9

Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Health Public spending

in health per capita

1937 (1937 francs)

Medical staff per 100,000 inhabitants

1937

Medical staff per 100,000 inhabitants

1955

Métropole - 143.7(a) -

Algérie 12.0 28.4 28.4

Tunisie 22.7 30.9 28.8

Maroc 6.3 7.2 12.0

Indochine 3.1 3.3 -

Madagascar 6.7 - -

A.O.F. + Togo 4.5 5.2 -

A.E.F. 6.0 - -

(a) : 1934 Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Education Gross primary

enrollment ratio 1936

Indigenous (%)

Public spending in education

per capita 1937

(1937 francs)

Gross primary enrollment ratio

1956 Indigenous

(%)

Public spending in education

per capita 1955

(1937 francs)

Enrollment in secondary

1956 Indigenous

(N) Algérie 7.4 26.6 13.3(a) 70.2(e) 3,888(c)

Tunisie 8.2 26.1 24.0(a) - 18,178(c)

Maroc 1.4 13.0 11.6 65.5 12,220(c) Indochine(b) 11.9 3.1 (1943: 14.9) - (1943: 19,754)

Madagascar 16.1(c) 5.3 26.7 13.7 15,317(d)

A.O.F. 2.1(a) 2.0 9.0(a) 9.2 14,948(d)

Togo 5.2(a) 2.2 23.5(a) 9.3 1,357d)

A.E.F. 3.0(a) 0.8 17.0(a) 5.1 3,640d)

Traditional koranic schools not counted. (a) : Estimates, assuming 100% enrollment of European children (b) : Enrollment in indigenous schools. (c): Public only (d): Europeans & Indigenous (e): General government only Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Political economy of public finance:more questions than answers

Enclave economyThe scale of the State expanded with the size of settler economy

- After WW1, European settlers most likely paid a large share of direct and indirect taxes collected on trade, urban sector, or high incomes

(e.g. Nicolaï 1962 on Tunisia)- Also first beneficiaries from the bulk of public expenditures

Yet the exact balance is difficult to compute…- (Non-indemnized expropriation at independence: extent?)

Metropolitan taxpayer: subsidiziation of the enclave economy?- Trade deficits w.r.t. metropolis (also rest of the world), with

exceptions in 1930s, and especially in 1950s (Marseille 1984)

- Partly compensated by budget surpluses until 1950s- End-of-period public loans and private capital losses?- Paid for military expenditures (Bobrie 1976 for 1850-1913)

Trade and Public FinanceTrade deficits, and budget surpluses (millions 1937 francs)

1913 1937 1955

Trade Budget Trade Budget Trade Budget

Algérie -975 +133 +250 +114 -4,433 +33

Tunisie +202 +459 -183 +371 -972 -

Maroc -829 -34 -621 +28 -2,241 -24 Indochine +220 +109 +1,010 +76 - -

Madagascar +71 +41 +125 +14 -510 -17

A.O.F. -147 +41 -164 +59 -454 +177

A.E.F. +64 +10 +33 +29 -700 +29

Total -1,393 +750 +449 +669 -9,310 +198

Budget surplus / deficit: Including loans received and debt payments (capital and interest). Source: Cogneau et al. (2014)

Thank you

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Merci

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