DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17832161
title: Guardians of the Legacy: Divergent Paths of Elite Influence and Property Rights Stability

description:  This research investigates the stark divergence in property rights stability between the United States and Haiti, examining why the U.S. property rights reached a score of 7.66/10 after 160 years while Haiti's score plummeted to 2.13/10 after 221 years, despite Haiti's longer period since abolition. The study argues that the critical factor influencing this difference was the continuity of knowledge-holding elites in the U.S. versus elite replacement without knowledge transfer in Haiti. 

Haiti's Revolution led to the replacement of French-trained legal elites with less experienced leaders, while the U.S. Jim Crow laws preserved white elite monopolies and institutional knowledge. Extensive analysis of Virginia Chancery Court records along with International Property Rights Index (IPRI) data from 2007 to 2025 substantiates a persistent property rights differential between the two nations. The findings demonstrate that time since abolition does not correlate with current property rights, highlighting deeper institutional issues rooted in elite continuity versus replacement. 

Furthermore, the study critiques the World Bank's $1.4 billion investment in Haiti, which coincided with a 37% collapse in property rights scores, asserting that financial capital cannot replace the generational knowledge lost due to elite replacement. Through a comparative lens, particularly examining Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the authors emphasize essential lessons for contemporary post-conflict reconstruction efforts.

Keywords: property rights, institutional knowledge, Haiti, Jim Crow, elite networks, development failure, knowledge-holding elite continuity

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 Read Me Section

Read Me: Guardians of Legacy - Research Overview

Welcome to the dataset and findings related to the study "Guardians of Legacy: Divergent Paths of Elite Influence and Property Rights Stability". This document serves as a guide to understanding the implications of the research conducted by Scott Brown and Paul R. Latortue.

Overview:

- This research addresses the historical context of property rights in the U.S. and Haiti, providing a comparative analysis that explores how elite continuity impacts institutional stability.

- It brings to light how the institutional frameworks shaped by historical elites created significant disparities in property rights outcome.

Data Files:

- results_summary.csv: Contains mean property rights scores, current rankings by country, years since abolition, and volatility of property rights for various countries from the study.

- panel_data_full.csv: A comprehensive dataset detailing the International Property Rights Index for the study's selected countries over time.

Key Findings:

1. Divergent Outcomes: The U.S. scores significantly better than Haiti in property rights despite the latter having a longer time since abolition.

2. The Importance of Knowledge: The existence of knowledge-holding elite networks has been shown to play a critical role in property rights stability.

3. World Bank Investment Impact: Major financial investments, as evidenced in Haiti, may not be sufficient in the absence of pre-existing institutional knowledge.

Methodological Notes:

- The study utilizes data from various historical and contemporary sources, including court records and property rights indices, to back its assertions.

- Statistical analyses, including t-tests and regression analyses, were employed to ascertain relationships and significance in the data.

Suggested Use:

This study can be valuable for researchers and practitioners in fields such as development economics, historical institutionalism, and comparative politics. The insights can guide future endeavors in post-conflict reconstruction and institutional reform strategies.

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Copyright: (C) 2025 The Authors

For any inquiries or further analysis questions, please contact the authors through their respective institutions.