Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer
The article discusses a study by medical professor Marcella Alsan that sought to identify pre-colonial societal characteristics of African countries that could predict how well their economies have subsequently performed. The tsetse fly emerged an an important indicator. Societies in which the fly prevented large-scale agriculture prevented populations large enough for a central authority that could provide public goods. In those regions where the fly kept down the number of work animals such as cattle and horses, slavery took hold.