Empires in Trade: Colonial Legacies in France, the United Kingdom, and Their Former Colonies

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse to what extent colonial trade patterns persist in former British and French colonies in Southeast Asia and West Africa, and how these effects differ between colonial powers and regions. The study combines a historic perspective combined with an empirical analysis of bilateral trade flows between France, the United Kingdom, and their former colonies over the period 1985-2023. The study estimates a log-linear gravity model to examine the relationship between colonial ties, economic size, geographic distance, and linguistic ties to are included to capture long-term trade relations. The results show that colonial trade relations are both statistically and economically significant, long after decolonisation. The effects do, however, vary between colonial powers: France exhibits a stronger and more persistent trade tie with its former colonies than the United Kingdom does. There is no robust support for systematic differences in colonial trade patterns between Southeast Asia and West Africa. Altogether, the study indicates that the institutional and administrative legacy of colonial powers plays a larger role in the long-term structure of trade than regional differences do.