Legibility, Migration, and State Trust in Cote d'Ivoire

• In Event: Poster Session: International Political Economy 2 & APCG (African Politics)
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: APCG (African Politics)

Abstract

When are limited-capacity states able to collect information on their populations? In order to participate in democracy and make claims on the state, citizens need to make their identities and property known to the state. This paper argues that citizens choose whether or not to officially register private information based on the potential benefits and costs of making themselves known to the state. Taking the case of Cote d’Ivoire, we combine four large household survey datasets collected by international NGOs over 30 years. We then examine differences in the coverage of government records in Cote d’Ivoire, particularly birth and land ownership registration, a) between migrant and non-migrant populations, and b) between time periods with different governments in power. Results show that migrants in particular choose to inform the state when the government in power has pro-migrant policies, but not when the government is anti-migrant. We then explore how local community structure mediates the individual household’s relationship to the state. We argue that our demand-side explanation is better at explaining observed patterns in registration than alternative theories. This paper helps to explain subnational variation in state capacity across African states. It contributes to a broader strand of research that explains state capacity as the product of interactions between states and their citizens.

Author

• Aaron Christensen, Columbia University