Schooling and Citizenship in a Young Democracy: Evidence from Postwar Germany
利用1949-1969年间德国各州逐步延长义务教育年限的政策变化，考察学校教育对个人政治行为的因果影响，发现受教育年限与政治行为正相关但缺乏因果证据。
This paper examines whether schooling has a causal impact on individuals' political behavior. Between 1949 and 1969, the number of compulsory years of schooling in the Federal Republic of Germany was gradually increased across all federal states. These legislative changes provide an opportunity to investigate the causal impact of schooling on political behavior. Years of schooling are found to be positively correlated with several political outcomes. However, there is little evidence of a causal effect. This study conjectures that there is ample historical evidence to support the hypothesis that the fundamentals of democracy were already learned earlier in school, potentially outweighing the political returns of schooling in Germany.