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Education and Industrialization in Prussia: A Reassessment

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  • Jeremy Edwards

Abstract

This paper investigates Becker, Hornung and Woessmann’s recent claim that education had an important causal effect on Prussian industrialization and finds it unwarranted. The econometric analysis on which this claim is based suffers from severe problems, notably the omission of relevant variables which leads to serious bias in the estimated effect of education. When these problems are corrected, the conclusions of Becker, Hornung and Woessmann no longer hold. Education did not play an important role in enabling Prussia to catch up with Britain during the nineteenth century.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeremy Edwards, 2013. "Education and Industrialization in Prussia: A Reassessment," CESifo Working Paper Series 4081, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_4081
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2003. "Instrumental variables and GMM: Estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Sascha O. Becker & Ludger Woessmann, 2009. "Was Weber Wrong? A Human Capital Theory of Protestant Economic History," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 531-596.
    3. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2005. "Microeconometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521848053, January.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; industrialization; omitted variables; Prussian economic history;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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