The Making of France

Guillaume Blanc and Masahiro Kubo ()
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Masahiro Kubo: CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

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Abstract: This paper studies nation-building in a fragmented society. We document the political economy of mass education, the adoption of a common language, and the construction of a national identity in France. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that state-sponsored education led to linguistic homogenization. To understand why nation-building was successful, we study heterogeneity and find that knowledge elites and the demand for education were instrumental.

Keywords: nation-building; language; mass education; institutions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-11
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04292485v3
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