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Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: The Long Run Development Effects of American Missions in Anatolia

Author

Listed:
  • Yasar Ersan

    (University of Michigan)

  • Ilhan Can Ozen

    (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey)

Abstract

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) had a significant foothold in the Anatolian geography for the majority of the early 19th century, through their sizeable human capital intervention. Through an extensive archival work, we study the impact of human capital intervention on development outcomes. Using the spatial variation in the built and functional mission stations, we find areas closer to ABCFM missions have presently higher income by 5%-17%, and higher general development index by 0.07-0.12 standard deviation in 10 km proximity. We identify the mission impact by exploiting a placebo set from the group that was conceived but not carried out, and also an exogenous re-partition of the working region as an instrumental variable strategy. The underlying mechanisms are labor productivity in the agriculture sector, which allows for greater skill differentiation and structural transformation. Gender roles in education are also significantly transformed.

Suggested Citation

  • Yasar Ersan & Ilhan Can Ozen, 2022. "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: The Long Run Development Effects of American Missions in Anatolia," ERC Working Papers 2201, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Jan 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:met:wpaper:2201
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Middle East; American missionaries; economic development; human capital; persistence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N55 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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