Qualifying Religion: The Role of Plural Identities for Educational Production

Timo Boppart, Josef Falkinger, Volker Grossmann, Ulrich Woitek and Gabriela Wüthrich ()
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Gabriela Wüthrich: University of Zurich

No 3408, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the role of religious denomination for human capital formation. We employ a unique data set which covers, inter alia, information on numerous measures of school inputs in 169 Swiss districts for the years 1871/72, 1881/82 and 1894/95, marks from pedagogical examinations of conscripts (1875-1903), and results from political referenda to capture conservative or progressive values in addition to the cultural characteristics language and religion. Catholic districts show on average significantly lower educational performance than Protestant districts. However, accounting for other sociocultural characteristics qualifies the role of religion for educational production. The evidence suggests that Catholicism is harmful only in a conservative milieu. We also exploit information on absenteeism of pupils from school to separate provision of schooling from use of schooling.

Keywords: educational production; plural identity; religious denomination; school inputs; culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 I20 N33 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2008-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-his, nep-hrm and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published - published in: Explorations of Economic History, 2013, 50 (2), 242-266.

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Working Paper: Qualifying Religion: The Role of Plural Identities for Educational Production (2008)
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