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Does Education Foster Civic-Minded Citizens? Evidence from a Compulsory Schooling Reform

Author

Listed:
  • Almén, Daniel

    (Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University)

  • Elinder, Mikael

    (Department of Economics, Uppsala University)

  • Engström, Per

    (Department of Economics, Uppsala University)

  • Erixson, Oscar

    (Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University)

  • Lundberg, Erik

    (Department of Economics, Uppsala University)

  • Palme, Mårten

    (Department of Economics, Stockholm University)

Abstract

We exploit education reforms in Sweden and other European countries to estimate the causal effects of longer and modernized compulsory education on civic engagement. In most countries, compulsory education was extended by 1–2 years, and the curricula were reformed to better foster democratic and socially responsible citizens. We use high-quality, population-wide register data from Sweden and survey data from the other countries on key measures of civic engagement: voting in elections, charitable giving, and blood donations. Our estimates are generally precise and close to zero, allowing us to rule out even comparatively small positive effects. These results suggest that the post-WWII education reforms in Europe under study were unsuccessful in fostering more civic-minded citizens, and the additional years of schooling attributed to these reforms did not contribute to the positive association between educational attainment and civic engagement also observed in the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Almén, Daniel & Elinder, Mikael & Engström, Per & Erixson, Oscar & Lundberg, Erik & Palme, Mårten, 2025. "Does Education Foster Civic-Minded Citizens? Evidence from a Compulsory Schooling Reform," Working Paper Series 1515, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1515
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Holmlund, Helena, 2007. "A Researcher's Guide to the Swedish Compulsory School Reform," Working Paper Series 9/2007, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
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    3. Milligan, Kevin & Moretti, Enrico & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2004. "Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1667-1695, August.
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    5. Lindgren, Karl-Oskar & Oskarsson, Sven & Persson, Mikael, 2019. "Enhancing Electoral Equality: Can Education Compensate for Family Background Differences in Voting Participation?," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 113(1), pages 108-122, February.
    6. Dee, Thomas S., 2004. "Are there civic returns to education?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1697-1720, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education reforms; Civic engagement; Prosocial behaviour; Political participation; Voting; Charitable giving; Blood donation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

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