Author(s) :

Grant Hedgepeth.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Former British colonies have followed markedly different developmental trajectories since independence. Some have achieved economic growth and stable democracies while others have experienced economic and political instability. This study examines whether political autonomy during British colonial rule is associated with economic performance and democratic governance after independence. An autonomy index was constructed using eight dimensions of colonial self-government and applied to twelve former British colonies. Economic performance was measured using gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) adjusted constant 2011 international dollars, while political development was measured using Polity V polity scores. Comparative analyses, cross-country visualizations, Pearson correlation, and linear regression analyses were performed using one contemporary observation per country.The results indicate that higher levels of autonomy during colonial rule are associated with positive economic and political outcomes. Australia and Canada, achieving the highest levels on the autonomy scale, attained stable democratic governance and per capita incomes exceeding $25,000. Countries with lower autonomy scores, including Bangladesh, Burma/ Myanmar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, generally experienced weaker economic performance and political instability. Intermediate autonomy cases, such as Cyprus and Guyana, showed gradual improvement in development over time. These findings support the institutional persistence hypothesis by suggesting that government structures established during colonial rule continued to influence longterm development after independence. This study adds to the comparative development literature by demonstrating that differences in colonial political autonomy within a single imperial system were associated with long-term economic and political outcomes.