MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Economics Seminar Series 

"Colonialism, wage-setting institutions, and structural transformation"

by

Adam Aboobaker

(University of Manchester)

Date: October 6, 2025 (Monday)

Time: 14:00

Place: Fikret Görün Seminar Room (F106), FEAS - Building A

Abstract

The literature on macroeconomic performance has accorded a prime role for institutions over much of the last three decades. The focus in the mainstream has either been to analyse 'fundamental' determinants of development; deep-lying institutions, proxied in some instances by settler mortality in ultra long run economic development or the role of labour institutions in shorter-run levels of output and employment in advanced economies. This paper adopts a hybrid approach, analysing the role of labour institutions in longer run economic development and structural transformation. It draws from primary materials addressing the efforts by the South Africa desk of the Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office to manage the trajectory of African trade unions, microdata from manufacturing in five African economies to study firm wage premia, and macrodata from OECD countries. The findings are consistent with the perspective that British colonialism may have bolstered union wage premia in a manner inconsistent with sustained structural transformation.