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Schooling and Citizenship in a Young Democracy: Evidence from Postwar Germany

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  • Thomas Siedler

Abstract

This paper examines whether schooling has a causal impact on individuals' political behavior. Between 1949 and 1969, the number of compulsory years of schooling in the Federal Republic of Germany was gradually increased across all federal states. These legislative changes provide an opportunity to investigate the causal impact of schooling on political behavior. Years of schooling are found to be positively correlated with several political outcomes. However, there is little evidence of a causal effect. This study conjectures that there is ample historical evidence to support the hypothesis that the fundamentals of democracy were already learned earlier in school, potentially outweighing the political returns of schooling in Germany. Copyright © The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2010 .

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  • Thomas Siedler, 2010. "Schooling and Citizenship in a Young Democracy: Evidence from Postwar Germany," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(2), pages 315-338, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:112:y:2010:i:2:p:315-338
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Andrea Ichino & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2004. "The Long-Run Educational Cost of World War II," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 57-86, January.
    8. Amemiya, Takeshi, 1978. "The Estimation of a Simultaneous Equation Generalized Probit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(5), pages 1193-1205, September.
    9. 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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