Social and intertemporal differences of basic numeracy in Pannonia (first century BCE to third century CE)

Abstract

In this study, we assess the human capital of Roman legionaries, officers and the civilian population born between the first century BCE and the third century CE in Pannonia (today’s West Hungary). Age-heaping techniques allow the measurement of human capital for this early period, although we need to discuss intensively potential selectivity. We find that the Roman military benefited strongly from occupational choice selectivity: those social groups who decided for a military career had better numeracy values than the remainder of the population. This applied especially to the first centuries BCE and CE. Over time, however, the civilian population converged to the military occupational groups. This ‘military bias’ analysis also contributes to the debate about long-term growth determinants: in some societies, the most educated parts of the elites selected a military career, rather than opting for entreprenuerial activities which might have impacted more positively on macroeconomic growth.