Abstract
This paper examines the effect on current student performance of the 19th century Partitions of Poland among Austria, Prussia and Russia. Using a regression discontinuity design, I show that student test scores are 0.6 standard deviations higher on the Austrian side of the former Austrian-Russian border, despite the modern similarities of the three regions. However, I do not find evidence for differences across the Prussian-Russian border. Using a theoretical model and indirect evidence, I argue that the Partitions have persisted through their impact on social norms toward local schools. Nevertheless, the persistent effect of Austria is puzzling, given the historical similarities of the Austrian and Prussian education systems. I argue that the differential legacy of Austria and Prussia originates from the Austrian Empire’s policy to promote Polish identity in schools and the Prussian Empire’s efforts to Germanize the Poles through education.
Highlights
An intriguing idea in recent economic and historical research is that modern economies are affected by past institutions, even after the institutions have ceased to exist (Acemoglu and Robinson, 2008)
Because of the historical attitudes of the Polish population toward the education systems, positive social norms toward education may have been more likely to emerge in the Austrian partition
I exploited this setting to investigate the long-lasting effect of the 19th century education systems, which were imposed by Austria, Prussia, and Russia, on modern education outcomes
Summary
An intriguing idea in recent economic and historical research is that modern economies are affected by past institutions, even after the institutions have ceased to exist (Acemoglu and Robinson, 2008). Why social norms differ in the Austrian and Prussian partitions is puzzling given that the former was not economically superior over the latter and that the two Empires had almost identical education systems and similar provisions of public education.. Because of the historical attitudes of the Polish population toward the education systems, positive social norms toward education may have been more likely to emerge in the Austrian partition These could have been transmitted through generations and still affect student and parental effort. Assuming that the remaining bias is the same in both regions, the historical expansion of the education system has a more positive effect on the current student performance in the former Austria than in the former Prussia This is in line with the proposed hypothesis, given a positive interaction between identity and institutions in the Austrian Empire.
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