Education spread, technology, and population density

José Pedro Pontes

No 2025/0383, Working Papers REM from ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa

Abstract: We model the expansion of (higher) education in an economy composed by regions that only di??er in population density. The schooling process takes place sequentially across regions in descending order of demographic density and it implies a substitution of modern industrial technologies for traditional land-based ones. Under the crucial assumption that young people may travel to school within the region where they live, but not across regions, the model explains why both the literacy rate and per capita income increase, albeit at a decreasing rate. Furthermore, is allows us to understand why the average students’ commuting distance tends to rise despite the geographical decentralization of the educational system.

Keywords: Education Spread; Population Density; Spatial Monopolistic Competition; Wage Premium of Education; Modern versus Traditional Technology. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 O18 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-07
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03832025

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