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Can Mass Schooling Open Elite Education? Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Norway

Author

Listed:
  • Nina Boberg-Fazlic

    (TU Dortmund University)

  • Maja Uhre Pedersen

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Kristin Ranestad

    (University of Oslo)

  • Paul Sharp

    (University of Southern Denmark)

Abstract

We study whether Norway's 1827 rural school act broadened access to elite education. Using the universe of candidates for the Norwegian university entrance examination (examen artium), 1815--1860, we construct a candidate-level dataset of all 3,006 candidates, including birthplace and father's occupation. After plausibly exposed cohorts entered the sample, candidates became more rural: the countryside share rose from about 45 to 52 percent and mean distance to a city from 18.0 to 21.6 km. Social opening was weaker. Farmers' sons increased from a low base but remained sharply underrepresented. The reform widened geography more than class.

Suggested Citation

  • Nina Boberg-Fazlic & Maja Uhre Pedersen & Kristin Ranestad & Paul Sharp, 2026. "Can Mass Schooling Open Elite Education? Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Norway," Working Papers 0307, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0307
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    File URL: https://ehes.org/wp/EHES_307.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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