Can Mass Schooling Open Elite Education? Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Norway

Nina Boberg-Fazlic, Maja Uhre Pedersen, Kristin Ranestad and Paul Sharp
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Nina Boberg-Fazlic: TU Dortmund University
Maja Uhre Pedersen: University of Southern Denmark
Kristin Ranestad: University of Oslo
Paul Sharp: University of Southern Denmark

No 307, Working Papers from European Historical Economics Society (EHES)

Abstract: We study whether Norway's 1827 rural school act broadened access to elite education. Using the universe of candidates for the Norwegian university entrance examination (examen artium), 1815--1860, we construct a candidate-level dataset of all 3,006 candidates, including birthplace and father's occupation. After plausibly exposed cohorts entered the sample, candidates became more rural: the countryside share rose from about 45 to 52 percent and mean distance to a city from 18.0 to 21.6 km. Social opening was weaker. Farmers' sons increased from a low base but remained sharply underrepresented. The reform widened geography more than class.

Keywords: education; social mobility; school reform; Norway; examen artium; rural schooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J62 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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