The LongTerm Effects of the Printing Press in SubSaharan Africa

Julia Cagé and Valeria Rueda

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Abstract: This article delves into the relationship between newspaper readership and civic attitudes, and its effect on economic development. To this end, we investigate the long-term consequences of the introduction of the printing press in the 19th century. In sub-Saharan Africa, Protestant missionaries were the first both to import the printing press technology and to allow the indigenous population to use it. We build a new geocoded dataset locating Protestant missions in 1903. This dataset includes, for each mission station, the geographic location and its characteristics, as well as the educational and health-related investments undertaken by the mission. We show that, within regions located close to missions, proximity to a printing press significantly increases newspaper readership today. We also document a strong association between proximity to a printing press and contemporary economic development. Our results are robust to a variety of identification strategies.

Keywords: economic development; historical persistence; printing press; Protestant missions; newspaper readership; political participation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-10
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-01071879
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Related works:
Journal Article: The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub-Saharan Africa (2016)
Working Paper: The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub-Saharan Africa (2016)
Working Paper: The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub-Saharan Africa (2016)
Working Paper: The LongTerm Effects of the Printing Press in SubSaharan Africa (2014)
Working Paper: The LongTerm Effects of the Printing Press in SubSaharan Africa (2014)
Working Paper: The long Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub Saharan Africa (2013)
Working Paper: The long Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub Saharan Africa (2013)
Working Paper: The long Term Effects of the Printing Press in Sub Saharan Africa (2013)
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