New data on 16 former British and French African colonies' cabinets (1960-2010) reveals systematic regional political inequality. 📍 Historical Dataset Analysis Analyzed cabinet composition across these countries 💡 Key Findings Regional disparities stem from colonial administrators' education policies, specifically favoring literacy-based recruitment practices 🔧 Bureaucratic Structures & Elite Recruitment This targeted approach influenced who became post-colonial ministers and how power was distributed 🌍 Geospatial Data Integration Combined historical records with geospatial information to isolate the role of colonial-era education from broader development factors 💵 Post-Colonial Political Economy Implications The study demonstrates a specific pathway through which colonial legacies impact contemporary Africa: by establishing unequal access points for future governance. This nuanced understanding extends beyond prior research on general distributive politics.