The Effect of Protestantism on Education before the Industrialization: Evidence from 1816 Prussia

Sascha Becker, Ludger Woessmann and Sascha O. Becker
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Sascha O. Becker

No 2910, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper uses recently discovered data on nearly 300 Prussian counties in 1816 to show that Protestantism led to more schools and higher school enrolment already before the industrialization. This evidence supports the human capital theory of Protestant economic history of Becker and Woessmann (2009), where Protestantism first led to better education, which in turn facilitated industrial development. It rules out that the existing end-of-19th-century evidence can be explained by a Weberian explanation, where a Protestant work ethic first led to industrialization which then increased the demand for education.

Keywords: education; Protestantism; pre-industrialization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 N33 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (74)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The effect of Protestantism on education before the industrialization: Evidence from 1816 Prussia (2010)
Working Paper: The effect of Protestantism on education before the industrialization: Evidence from 1816 Prussia (2010)
Working Paper: The Effect of Protestantism on Education before the Industrialization: Evidence from 1816 Prussia (2010)
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