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The rise of public schooling in nineteenth-century Imperial Austria: Who gained and who paid?

Author

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  • Tomas Cvrcek

    (University College London)

  • Miroslav Zajicek

    (Charles University
    Mendel University in Brno
    UCL Center for Comparative Studies of Emerging Economies)

Abstract

The rise of education features prominently in the debate on the sources of modern economic growth. Existing accounts stress the importance of popular demand for its public provision. We argue that such an explanation for the spread of schooling is a poor fit for many nations’ schooling histories, such as Imperial Austria. We show that in the Austrian case, schooling and economic development had limited impact on each other; that the popular demand for schooling was weak and that the push for school expansion came mainly from the top of the political hierarchy.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomas Cvrcek & Miroslav Zajicek, 2019. "The rise of public schooling in nineteenth-century Imperial Austria: Who gained and who paid?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(3), pages 367-403, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:cliomt:v:13:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11698-018-0180-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-018-0180-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public schooling; Education; Economic development; Austria;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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