Land Inequality, Education, and Marriage: Empirical Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Prussia

“Demographic Change and Long-Run Development” edited by Matteo Cervellati and Uwe Sunde (2016)

CESifo Working Paper Series No. 6072

37 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2016

See all articles by Francesco Cinnirella

Francesco Cinnirella

University of Bergamo; University of Southern Denmark - Department of Business and Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CAGE

Erik Hornung

University of Cologne - Center for Macroeconomic Research (CMR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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Date Written: September 15, 2016

Abstract

In this study we review the literature on the relationship between landownership inequality and the accumulation of human capital in historical perspective. Furthermore we provide new evidence on the relationship between landownership inequality and marriage patterns at the county level in nineteenth-century Prussia. Formally the landed elite could have influenced not only the labor relations with the peasants but also their marriage decisions. Using cross-sectional as well as panel analysis we find no evidence that noble landowners directly affected marriage rates. Instead we find a robust negative association between average formal education and the share of married women. This finding is in line with recent theoretical and empirical literature on the role of gender specific human capital in the demographic transition.

Keywords: land inequality, education, marriage, Prussian economic history

JEL Classification: O430, Q150, I250, J120, N330

Suggested Citation

Cinnirella, Francesco and Hornung, Erik, Land Inequality, Education, and Marriage: Empirical Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Prussia (September 15, 2016). “Demographic Change and Long-Run Development” edited by Matteo Cervellati and Uwe Sunde (2016), CESifo Working Paper Series No. 6072, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2858787

Francesco Cinnirella (Contact Author)

University of Bergamo ( email )

Via dei Caniana 2
Bergamo, 24129
Italy

University of Southern Denmark - Department of Business and Economics ( email )

DK-5230 Odense
Denmark

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute ( email )

Poschingerstrasse 5
Munich, 81679
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

CAGE ( email )

Premier Business Centre
47-49 Park Royal Road
London, NW10 7LQ
United Kingdom

Erik Hornung

University of Cologne - Center for Macroeconomic Research (CMR) ( email )

Cologne
Germany

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) ( email )

Munich
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

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