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Education and political engagement

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  • Le, Kien
  • Nguyen, My

Abstract

While the robust and positive relationship between education and political engagement has been widely documented, the direct causal link is still a subject of debate. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by presenting suggestive evidence for the ‘cause’ view on the causal effect of education on political engagement. Exploiting the plausibly exogenous variation in education induced by the compulsory schooling reforms across 39 countries, we find that education cultivates political interest, promotes the acquisition of political knowledge, and fosters supportive attitudes towards political freedoms. Nevertheless, the better educated are no more likely to vote in elections nor adopt any specific position in the left–right political spectrum.

Suggested Citation

  • Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "Education and political engagement," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:85:y:2021:i:c:s0738059321000948
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102441
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    1. Nguyen, My, 2020. "Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US," MPRA Paper 109992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Panu Pelkonen, 2012. "Length of compulsory education and voter turnout—evidence from a staged reform," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 51-75, January.
    3. Karl‐Oskar Lindgren & Sven Oskarsson & Christopher T. Dawes, 2017. "Can Political Inequalities Be Educated Away? Evidence from a Large‐Scale Reform," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(1), pages 222-236, January.
    4. Croke, Kevin & Grossman, Guy & Larreguy, Horacio A. & Marshall, John, 2016. "Deliberate Disengagement: How Education Can Decrease Political Participation in Electoral Authoritarian Regimes," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(3), pages 579-600, August.
    5. David Dreyer Lassen, 2005. "The Effect of Information on Voter Turnout: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(1), pages 103-118, January.
    6. Le Kien & Nguyen My, 2021. "How Education Empowers Women in Developing Countries," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 511-536, April.
    7. Le, Kien, 2020. "Land use restrictions, misallocation in agriculture, and aggregate productivity in Vietnam," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "Shedding light on maternal education and child health in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Dee, Thomas S., 2004. "Are there civic returns to education?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1697-1720, August.
    10. Tuomas Pekkarinen, 2008. "Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Evidence on the Role of Tracking from a Finnish Quasi‐experiment," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(4), pages 807-825, December.
    11. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    12. Rachel Milstein Sondheimer & Donald P. Green, 2010. "Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Education on Voter Turnout," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(1), pages 174-189, January.
    13. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    14. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "Armed conflict and birth weight," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    15. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2021. "The psychological consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 147-163, March.
    16. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2021. "The Impacts of Temperature Shocks on Birth Weight in Vietnam," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1025-1047, December.
    17. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The impacts of rainfall shocks on birth weight in Vietnam," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 143-159, April.
    18. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2020. "The impacts of farmland expropriation on Vietnam’s rural households," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 1560-1582, November.
    19. 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.
    20. Silles, Mary A., 2009. "The causal effect of education on health: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 122-128, February.
    21. Oliver, J. Eric, 2000. "City Size and Civic Involvement in Metropolitan America," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 94(2), pages 361-373, June.
    22. Horacio Larreguy & John Marshall, 2017. "The Effect of Education on Civic and Political Engagement in Nonconsolidated Democracies: Evidence from Nigeria," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(3), pages 387-401, July.
    23. Gidengil, Elisabeth & Tarkiainen, Lasse & Wass, Hanna & Martikainen, Pekka, 2019. "Turnout and Education: Is Education Proxying for Pre-Adult Experiences Within the Family?," Political Science Research and Methods, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 349-365, April.
    24. 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.
    25. David E. Campbell, 2009. "Civic Engagement and Education: An Empirical Test of the Sorting Model," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 771-786, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tess Penne; & Heleen Delanghe; & Tim Goedemé, 2021. "An exploration of key factors that determine the affordability of compulsory education in Europe," Working Papers 2108, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    2. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The impacts of rainfall shocks on birth weight in Vietnam," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 143-159, April.
    3. Irina Miruna RADU, 2020. "CBSD – A Suitable Solution for Building a Centralized Educational Library of Software," Informatica Economica, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(1), pages 75-86.
    4. Nguyen, My & Le, Kien, 2022. "Maternal education and son preference," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Djemaï, Elodie & Kevane, Michael, 2023. "Effects of education on political engagement in rural Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    6. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "The Impacts of Armed Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from 56 Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 109896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Serge Blondel & Ngoc-Thao Noet, 2023. "Quels facteurs expliquent la faible coopération en horticulture ?," TEPP Research Report 2023-01, TEPP.
    9. Nguyen, My, 2020. "Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US," MPRA Paper 109992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Kien Le, 2022. "Pre-Recorded Lectures, Live Online Lectures, and Student Academic Achievement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-10, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political engagement; Education; Compulsory schooling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • H80 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - General

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