Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/253735 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
EHES Working Paper No. 221
Publisher: 
European Historical Economics Society (EHES), s.l.
Abstract: 
Between 1890 and 1913, Russian Empire experienced a rapid transition to an industrial economy, catching up with Western countries. Using accidental elements in German settlement locations in Russia 1763-1861, the paper estimates the effects of the more educated Germans in Russia's industrial transition in 1890-1913. I demonstrate that German settlers had significant external benefits in their regions through improved schooling infrastructure and increased literacy among the local population. Educational benefits translated into a higher share of industrial occupations, per-capita local expenditures and urbanization by 1897. I also find a positive impact of education on productivity, mainly in industries that experienced technological transformation and had higher human capital requirements. Furthermore, panel estimates reveal that German areas experienced a higher industrial growth only after 1890 with the adaption of more progressive technologies. Finally, I find no evidence supporting alternative explanations of the German impact: increased agricultural productivity, lower exposure to serfdom, demographic transition or changes in landownership structure.
Subjects: 
Human capital
Russian economic history
Industrialization
JEL: 
N14
I25
O47
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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