[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_6103.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Nation Building: The Role of Central Spending in Education

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Cinnirella
  • Ruth Maria Schüler
Abstract
It is generally argued that, in the context of Imperial Germany, public primary education was used to form “loyal citizens” and to build a nation. In this paper we analyze to what extent central spending on primary education affected participation at general elections and votes for pro-nationalist parties. We combine census data on the sources of school funding with federal elec-tion data at the level of 199 constituencies in five-year intervals from 1886 to 1911. Panel esti-mates of models with constituency and time-fixed effects show that an increase in the share of central spending is positively related to the vote share of pro-nationalist parties and voter turnout. Results from models with lagged central spending by category of expenditure are consistent with the role of indoctrination of public primary education.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Cinnirella & Ruth Maria Schüler, 2016. "Nation Building: The Role of Central Spending in Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 6103, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6103
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp6103.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Koenig, Christoph, 2023. "Loose Cannons: War Veterans and the Erosion of Democracy in Weimar Germany," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 83(1), pages 167-202, March.
    2. Cinnirella, Francesco & Hornung, Erik, 2016. "Landownership concentration and the expansion of education," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 135-152.
    3. Chaudhary, Latika & Musacchio, Aldo & Nafziger, Steven & Yan, Se, 2012. "Big BRICs, weak foundations: The beginning of public elementary education in Brazil, Russia, India, and China," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 221-240.
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Myra Mohnen & Imran Rasul & Martina Viarengo, 2019. "Nation-building Through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(617), pages 62-109.
    5. Timothy Besley & Torsten Persson, 2009. "The Origins of State Capacity: Property Rights, Taxation, and Politics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1218-1244, September.
    6. Ernesto Calvo & Maria Victoria Murillo, 2004. "Who Delivers? Partisan Clients in the Argentine Electoral Market," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(4), pages 742-757, October.
    7. Timothy Besley & Torsten Persson, 2010. "State Capacity, Conflict, and Development," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 1-34, January.
    8. Eltis,David & Lewis,Frank D. & Sokoloff,Kenneth L. (ed.), 2009. "Human Capital and Institutions," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521769587, September.
    9. Lipset, Seymour Martin, 1959. "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy1," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 69-105, March.
    10. Cinnirella, Francesco & Schüler, Ruth M., 2016. "The Cost of Decentralization: Linguistic Polarization and the Provision of Education," CEPR Discussion Papers 11274, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Nico Voigtländer & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2014. "Highway to Hitler," ECON - Working Papers 156, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    12. Croke, Kevin & Grossman, Guy & Larreguy, Horacio A. & Marshall, John, 2016. "Deliberate Disengagement: How Education Can Decrease Political Participation in Electoral Authoritarian Regimes," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(3), pages 579-600, August.
    13. Alberto Alesina & Bryony Reich & Alessandro Riboni, 2017. "Nation-Building, Nationalism and Wars," NBER Working Papers 23435, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Lant Pritchett & Martina Viarengo, 2015. "The State, Socialisation, and Private Schooling: When Will Governments Support Alternative Producers?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(7), pages 784-807, July.
    15. Treisman, Daniel, 1996. "The Politics of Intergovernmental Transfers in Post-Soviet Russia," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 299-335, July.
    16. Sascha O. Becker & Francesco Cinnirella & Erik Hornung & Ludger Woessmann, 2014. "iPEHD--The ifo Prussian Economic History Database," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 57-66, June.
    17. Andrew Leigh, 2008. "Bringing home the bacon: an empirical analysis of the extent and effects of pork-barreling in Australian politics," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 279-299, October.
    18. Larcinese, Valentino & Snyder, James M. & Testa, Cecilia, 2013. "Testing Models of Distributive Politics using Exit Polls to Measure Voters’ Preferences and Partisanship," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(4), pages 845-875, October.
    19. Marco Manacorda & Edward Miguel & Andrea Vigorito, 2011. "Government Transfers and Political Support," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 1-28, July.
    20. Lehmann, Sibylle H., 2010. "The German Elections in the 1870s: Why Germany Turned from Liberalism to Protectionism," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 146-178, March.
    21. Philippe Aghion & Xavier Jaravel & Torsten Persson & Dorothée Rouzet, 2019. "Education and Military Rivalry," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 376-412.
    22. C. Reynolds, 2014. "State politics, tuition, and the dynamics of a political budget cycle," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1241-1270, June.
    23. Go, Sun & Lindert, Peter, 2010. "The Uneven Rise of American Public Schools to 1850," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 1-26, March.
    24. Davide Cantoni & Yuyu Chen & David Y. Yang & Noam Yuchtman & Y. Jane Zhang, 2017. "Curriculum and Ideology," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(2), pages 338-392.
    25. Tomas Cvrcek & Miroslav Zajicek, 2013. "School, what is it good for? Useful Human Capital and the History of Public Education in Central Europe," NBER Working Papers 19690, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Estelle James, 1993. "Why Do Different Countries Choose a Different Public-Private Mix of Educational Services?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 28(3), pages 571-592.
    27. Dee, Thomas S., 2004. "Are there civic returns to education?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1697-1720, August.
    28. Kwon, Hyeok Yong, 2005. "Targeting Public Spending in a New Democracy: Evidence from South Korea," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 321-341, April.
    29. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2005. "The melting pot and school choice," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 871-896, June.
    30. Drazen, Allan & Eslava, Marcela, 2010. "Electoral manipulation via voter-friendly spending: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 39-52, May.
    31. Francisco A. Gallego, 2010. "Historical Origins of Schooling: The Role of Democracy and Political Decentralization," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(2), pages 228-243, May.
    32. Curto-Grau, Marta & Herranz-Loncán, Alfonso & Solé-Ollé, Albert, 2012. "Pork-Barrel Politics in Semi-Democracies: The Spanish “Parliamentary Roads,” 1880–1914," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 771-796, August.
    33. Lant Pritchett & Martina Viarengo, 2013. "The State, Socialization, and Private Schooling: When Will Governments Support Alternative Producers?," Growth Lab Working Papers 50, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    34. Stratmann, Thomas, 2013. "The effects of earmarks on the likelihood of reelection," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 341-355.
    35. Aidt, T.S. & Dutta, Jayasri & Loukoianova, Elena, 2006. "Democracy comes to Europe: Franchise extension and fiscal outcomes 1830-1938," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 249-283, February.
    36. Ruth Maria Schüler, 2016. "Centralized Monitoring, Resistance, and Reform Outcomes: Evidence from School Inspections in Prussia," ifo Working Paper Series 223, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    37. Irma Clots‐Figueras & Paolo Masella, 2013. "Education, Language and Identity," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0, pages 332-357, August.
    38. John R. Lott, Jr., 1999. "Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 127-157, December.
    39. Davide Cantoni & Yuyu Chen & David Y. Yang & Noam Yuchtman & Y. Jane Zhang, 2017. "Curriculum and Ideology," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(2), pages 338-392.
    40. Peter Lindert, 2004. "Social Spending and Economic Growth," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 6-16.
    41. Lott, John R, Jr, 1990. "An Explanation for Public Provision of Schooling: The Importance of Indoctrination," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 199-231, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Becker, Sascha O. & Hornung, Erik, 2020. "The Political Economy of the Prussian Three-Class Franchise," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(4), pages 1143-1188, December.
    2. Paola Azar, 2022. "Politics as a determinant of primary school provision: the case of Uruguay," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 16(2), pages 333-367, May.
    3. Yu Hao & Kevin Zhengcheng Liu, 2020. "Taxation, fiscal capacity, and credible commitment in eighteenth‐century China: the effects of the formalization and centralization of informal surtaxes," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(4), pages 914-939, November.
    4. Schüler, Ruth Maria, 2023. "Centralized Monitoring, Resistance, and Reform Outcomes: Evidence from School Inspections in Prussia," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277652, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Felix Kersting, 2022. "Welfare Reform and Repression in an Autocracy: Bismarck and the Socialists," Working Papers 0227, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    7. Bai, Yu & Li, Yanjun, 2020. "Good bye Chiang Kai-shek? The long-lasting effects of education under the authoritarian regime in Taiwan," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Paola Azar & Sergio Espuelas, 2021. "Democracy and primary education spending in Spain, 1902-22," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2021/409, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    9. Mario F. Carillo, 2022. "Fascistville: Mussolini’s new towns and the persistence of neo-fascism," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 527-567, December.
    10. Tomas Cvrcek & Miroslav Zajicek, 2019. "The rise of public schooling in nineteenth-century Imperial Austria: Who gained and who paid?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(3), pages 367-403, September.
    11. Belmonte, Alessandro, 2020. "State Capacity, Schooling, and Fascist Education: Evidence from the Reclamation of the Pontine Marshes," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 528, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    12. Marc Goñi, 2023. "Landed elites and education provision in England: evidence from school boards, 1871-99," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 125-171, March.
    13. Kukić, Leonard, 2023. "The last Yugoslavs: Ethnic diversity and national identity," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Kersting, Felix & Wolf, Nikolaus, 2024. "On the origins of national identity. German nation-building after Napoleon," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 463-477.
    15. Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia & Alfonso Díez-Minguela & Alicia Gómez-Tello & Julio Martinez-Galarraga & Daniel A. Tirado-Fabregat, 2021. "Structural change and the income of nations," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2021/414, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    16. Cvrcek, Tomas & Zajicek, Miroslav, 2019. "The making of a liberal education: Political economy of the Austrian school reform, 1865 – 1880," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Ruth Maria Schüler, 2016. "Educational inputs and economic development in end-of-nineteenth-century Prussia," ifo Working Paper Series 227, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    18. Kukic, Leonard, 2019. "The last Yugoslavs: ethnic diversity, national identity and civil war," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102323, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Sascha O. Becker & Markus Nagler & Ludger Woessmann, 2017. "Education and religious participation: city-level evidence from Germany’s secularization period 1890–1930," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 273-311, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Belmonte, Alessandro, 2020. "State Capacity, Schooling, and Fascist Education: Evidence from the Reclamation of the Pontine Marshes," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 528, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Tomas Cvrcek & Miroslav Zajicek, 2019. "The rise of public schooling in nineteenth-century Imperial Austria: Who gained and who paid?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(3), pages 367-403, September.
    3. Testa, Patrick A., 2018. "Education and propaganda: Tradeoffs to public education provision in nondemocracies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 66-81.
    4. Ruth Maria Schüler, 2018. "Education Economics from a Historical Perspective," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 78.
    5. Cinnirella, Francesco & Schüler, Ruth M., 2016. "The Cost of Decentralization: Linguistic Polarization and the Provision of Education," CEPR Discussion Papers 11274, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Andersson, Jens & Berger, Thor, 2016. "Elites and the Expansion of Education in 19th-century Sweden," Lund Papers in Economic History 149, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    7. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime, 2021. "Can autocracy promote literacy? Evidence from a cultural alignment success story," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 412-436.
    8. Bautista, María Angélica & González, Felipe & Martinez, Luis R. & Muñoz, Pablo & Prem, Mounu, 2020. "Dictatorship, Higher Education, and Social Mobility," SocArXiv 6st9r, Center for Open Science.
    9. Cinnirella, Francesco & Hornung, Erik, 2016. "Landownership concentration and the expansion of education," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 135-152.
    10. Peter Spáč, 2021. "Pork barrel politics and electoral returns at the local level," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 479-501, September.
    11. Lai, Weizheng, 2024. "The effect of education on voter turnout in China's rural elections," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 230-247.
    12. Paola Azar & Sergio Espuelas, 2021. "Democracy and primary education spending in Spain, 1902-22," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2021/409, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    13. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2019. "Immigration, Diversity and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 14008, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Bautista, M. A. & González, F. & Martínez, L. R. & Muñoz, P. & Prem, M., 2020. "Chile’s Missing Students: Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility," Documentos de Trabajo 18163, Universidad del Rosario.
    15. Oriana Bandiera & Myra Mohnen & Imran Rasul & Martina Viarengo, 2019. "Nation-building Through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(617), pages 62-109.
    16. Paola Azar Dufrechou, 2018. "Electoral politics and the diffusion of primary schooling: evidence from Uruguay, 1914-1954," Working Papers wpdea1801, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    17. Ishac Diwan & Irina Vartanova, 2018. "Does Education Indoctrinate? The Effect of Education on Political Preferences In Democracies and Autocracies," Working Papers 1178, Economic Research Forum, revised 12 Apr 2018.
    18. Vitantonio Mariella, 2023. "Landownership concentration and human capital accumulation in post-unification Italy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1695-1764, July.
    19. Cvrcek, Tomas & Zajicek, Miroslav, 2019. "The making of a liberal education: Political economy of the Austrian school reform, 1865 – 1880," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Arold, W. Benjamin & Woessmann, Ludger & Zierow, Larissa, 2022. "Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education," IZA Discussion Papers 14989, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    nation building; primary education; indoctrination; Prussian economic history;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N43 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6103. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.