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Railways, development, and literacy in India

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Chaudhary, Latika and Fenske, James (2023) Railways, development, and literacy in India. Journal of Economic History . ISSN 0022-0507. (In Press)

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Abstract

We study the effect of railroads, the single largest public investment in colonial India, on human capital. Using district-level data on literacy and two different identification strategies, we find railroads had positive effects on literacy, in particular on male and English literacy. We show that railroads increased literacy by raising secondary and elite primary, rather than vernacular primary schooling. Our mediation analysis suggests that non-agricultural income, urbanisation, and opportunities for skilled employment are important mechanisms, while agricultural income is not.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications
L Education > LC Special aspects of education
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Railroads -- Social aspects -- India, Railroads -- India -- History, Literacy -- Social aspects -- India, Literacy -- India, Economic development -- Social aspects -- India
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Economic History
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISSN: 0022-0507
Official Date: 2023
Dates:
DateEvent
2023Available
25 January 2023Accepted
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: In Press
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): This article has been accepted for publication in a revised form for publication in Journal of Economic History https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 27 January 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access: 30 January 2023
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