Colonisation and development in the former French West Africa: the long-term impact of the colonial public policy

What influence has colonialism had on current inequalities in French speaking West Africa? This paper examines the impact of colonial rule on current levels of health, education and access to public works. It confirms that colonial history has significantly contributed to the current social and economic disparities among districts in the region.

That impact of the colonial influence is found in most sectors of society. Public sector investment varied geographically during the colonial era, resulting in existing regional disparities. Those areas with higher investment currently enjoy higher school attendance rates, lower rates of child stunting and better infrastructure.

The study finds that early colonial investments, from 1900 to 1930, have had the greatest effect, as the impact of the public investments' policy is still perceptible today. Surprisingly, indigenous policy - governing interaction with local authorities - has a more equitable legacy than the public investment policy.

Early colonial public policies and their related impacts today are thought to be the sum of two sequential causal effects: the impact of the early colonial policies on the 1930-1960 and post-colonial public policies, plus the impact of the postcolonial policies on the current development agenda.