Long Live Keju! The Persistent Effects of China’s Civil Examination System
利用明清时期278个府进士密度的差异，研究发现进士密度翻倍使2010年受教育年限增加8.5%，其影响通过文化传承、教育设施、社会资本和政治精英等渠道持续至今。
Abstract China's civil examination system (keju), an incredibly long-lived institution, has a persistent impact on human capital outcomes today. Using the variation in the density of jinshi—the highest qualification—across 278 Chinese prefectures in the Ming-Qing period (c. 1368–1905) to proxy for this effect, we find that a doubling of jinshi per 10,000 population leads to an 8.5% increase in years of schooling in 2010. The persistent effect of keju can be attributed to a multitude of channels including cultural transmission, educational infrastructure, social capital and, to a lesser extent, political elites.