Research SummaryThe paper explores how the deep historical roots of informal institutions influence current informal businesses. It proposes that both pre‐colonial institutions—the tradition of cousin marriage—and the subsequent shocks of colonization still impact the performance of informal firms. We theorize on how the effects of historical family systems are moderated by the traumatic and spatially heterogeneous shocks of colonialism, in particular the cultural values of the colonizers (individualism) and their religious (missionary) activities. Our hypotheses are tested by regression analysis based on surveys of informal businesses in multiple regions of eight African countries. We find that the cousin marriage tradition is negatively associated with the performance of current informal businesses though this relationship is attenuated in places where colonizers were more individualistic.Managerial SummaryThis paper explores how the pre‐colonial family institutions—the tradition of cousin marriage—and the subsequent shocks of colonization jointly impact the performance of contemporary informal firms in sub‐Saharan Africa. We propose that the historical tradition of cousin marriage has persistent and negative effects on the revenue and labor productivity of contemporary informal businesses. This is because informal entrepreneurs in ethnic areas with the cousin marriage tradition may prioritize social obligations over economic incentives. However, these relationships are attenuated in ethnic areas colonized by European countries with more individualistic cultural values. Our findings highlight the importance for business owners and managers to understand the deep historical roots of the social norms of the communities and groups with which they interact.

中文翻译：

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撒哈拉以南非洲的表亲婚姻传统、殖民冲击和非正规企业的表现

研究摘要本文探讨了非正规机构的深厚历史根源如何影响当前的非正规企业。它提出，前殖民制度——表亲结婚的传统——和随后的殖民化冲击仍然影响着非正式企业的业绩。我们从理论上阐述了历史家庭系统的影响如何被殖民主义的创伤和空间异质性冲击所调节，特别是殖民者的文化价值观（个人主义）及其宗教（传教士）活动。我们的假设通过回归分析进行了检验，该回归分析基于对 8 个非洲国家多个地区的非正规企业进行了调查。我们发现，表亲婚姻传统与当前非正规企业的表现呈负相关，尽管这种关系在殖民者更加个人主义的地方被削弱。管理者总结本文探讨了前殖民时期的家庭制度（表亲结婚的传统）和随后的殖民化冲击如何共同影响撒哈拉以南非洲当代非正规企业的业绩。我们提出，表亲结婚的历史传统对当代非正规企业的收入和劳动生产率具有持久的负面影响。这是因为在具有表亲婚姻传统的少数民族地区，非正式企业家可能会优先考虑社会义务而不是经济激励。然而，这些关系在具有更多个人主义文化价值观的欧洲国家殖民的种族地区被削弱。我们的研究结果强调了企业主和管理者了解他们与之互动的社区和群体的社会规范的深层历史根源的重要性。