DP12811 Can autocracy promote literacy? evidence from a cultural alignment success story

Author(s):	Nuno Pedro G. Palma, Jaime Brown Reis
Publication Date:	March 2018
Date Revised:	March 2019
Keyword(s):	Anthropometrics, economic history of education, political economy of development, public schooling provison
JEL(s):	H41, I24, I25, N33, N34, O12
Programme Areas:	Development Economics, Economic History
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=12811

Do countries with less democratic forms of government have lower literacy rates as a consequence? Using a random sample of 4,600+ individuals from military archives in Portugal, we show that 20-year old males were 50% more likely to end up literate under an authoritarian regime than under a democratic one. Our results are robust to controlling for a host of factors including economic growth, the disease environment, and regional fixed effects. We argue for a political economy and cultural explanation for the success of the authoritarian regime in promoting basic education.