Skeptical Democrats? The Long-Run Effects of Education for All Policies on Political Attitudes and Behavior

• In Event: 43.036 - Citizenship, the Public, and Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

One of the strongest findings in political science is that educated citizens participate politically more. However, these findings emerge largely out of advanced Western democracies and they remain untested in the Global South, with uncertain mechanisms in poorer democracies. I leverage the expansion of educational opportunities to estimate the impact of increased schooling on political attitudes and behaviors. I find that the program induced individuals to stay in school for one additional year, and an 18 percent higher level of English proficiency. This increased human capital, however, results in political disengagement. Individuals that attained higher levels of schooling as a result of the program are less likely to participate politically and less trusting of public and private institutions.

Author

• Emmerich Davies, Harvard University