“Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-Term Consequences”, Lakshmi Iyer2010-11 (economics)⁠:

This paper compares economic outcomes across areas in India that were under direct British colonial rule with areas that were under indirect colonial rule.

Controlling for selective annexation using a specific policy rule, I find that areas that experienced direct rule have statistically-significantly lower levels of access to schools, health centers, and roads in the postcolonial period.

I find evidence that the quality of governance in the colonial period has a statistically-significant and persistent effect on postcolonial outcomes.