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Nation-Building and Education

Author

Listed:
  • Alberto Alesina
  • Paola Giuliano
  • Bryony Reich

Abstract

Democracies and dictatorships have different incentives when it comes to choosing how much and by what means to homogenise the population, i.e., ‘to build a nation’. We study and compare nation-building policies under the transition from dictatorship to democracy in a model where the type of government and borders of the country are endogenous. We find that the threat of democratisation provides the strongest incentive to homogenise. We focus upon a specific nation-building policy: mass primary education. We offer historical discussions of nation-building across time and space, and provide correlations for a large sample of countries over the 1925–2014 period.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano & Bryony Reich, 2021. "Nation-Building and Education," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(638), pages 2273-2303.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:131:y:2021:i:638:p:2273-2303.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ej/ueab001
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    Cited by:

    1. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Emilio Depetris-Chauvin & Ruben Durante & Filipe Campante, 2020. "Building Nations through Shared Experiences: Evidence from African Football," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(5), pages 1572-1602, May.
    3. Esther Hauk & Javier Ortega, 2015. "Schooling, Nation Building and Industrialization: A Gellnerian Approach," CEP Discussion Papers dp1328, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Bautista, M. A. & González, F. & Martínez, L. R. & Muñoz, P. & Prem, M., 2020. "Chile’s Missing Students: Dictatorship, Higher Education and Social Mobility," Documentos de Trabajo 18163, Universidad del Rosario.
    5. Ralph Hippe & Roger Fouquet, 2015. "The human capital transition and the role of policy," GRI Working Papers 185, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    6. Enrico Spolaore & Romain Wacziarg, 2022. "Fertility and Modernity," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(642), pages 796-833.
    7. Yuki, Kazuhiro, 2021. "Modernization, social identity, and ethnic conflict," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    8. Diwan, Ishac & Vartanova, Irina, 2020. "Does education indoctrinate?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. David Chilosi & Stefan Nikolić, 2021. "Vanishing borders: ethnicity and trade costs at the origin of the Yugoslav market," Working Papers 0214, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    10. Ananyev, Maxim & Poyker, Michael, 2023. "Identity and conflict: Evidence from Tuareg rebellion in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Richard M. Bird & Eric M. Zolt, 2014. "Taxation and inequality in the Americas: Changing the fiscal contract?," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 7, pages 193-237, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Abramson, Boaz & Shayo, Moses, 2022. "International integration and social identity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Richard M. Bird, 2014. "Sustainable development requires a good tax system," Chapters, in: Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez (ed.), Taxation and Development: The Weakest Link?, chapter 1, pages 1-24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    14. Bird, Richard M. & Zolt, Eric M., 2015. "Fiscal Contracting in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 323-335.
    15. Pau Insa-Sánchez & Alfonso Díez-Minguela, 2023. "Starting high school? On the origins of secondary education in Spain, 1857–1901," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(2), pages 233-259, May.
    16. Giampaolo Lecce & Laura Ogliari & Tommaso Orlando, 2022. "State formation, social unrest and cultural distance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 453-483, September.
    17. Gregory W. Caskey & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2022. "The predatory state and coercive assimilation: The case of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 217-235, April.

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