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The impact of rail development on press diffusion and vote in France during the Third Republic (1870-1940)

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  • Alban de Gmeline

    (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

What was the impact of rail development on electoral behaviour in France? This paper quantifies the impact of the opening of stations on voting in the 1902 election. It distinguishes the specific effect linked to the opening of a news agent in stations. The analysis is based on a new dataset from the archives of Hachette who had a monopoly on these news agents in French railway stations. These selling points account for 2.64% of the 42.46% of votes obtained by the left-wing alliance in 1902. A political bias of Hachette may partly explain this effect. These results underscore the importance of transport infrastructure and information access in shaping political behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Alban de Gmeline, 2025. "The impact of rail development on press diffusion and vote in France during the Third Republic (1870-1940)," Working Papers 41, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge, revised 09 Mar 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:cmh:wpaper:41
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N73 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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