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Viktor Malein

Postdoctoral fellow

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Human Capital, Institutions and Development: Insights from German Migration in the Russian Empire

Author

  • Viktor Malein

Summary, in English

This paper examines the economic effects of German settlers on Imperial Russia’s transition to advanced industrialization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Between 1763 and 1860, thousands of German migrants came to the country’s frontier regions, drawn by a state-sponsored settlement policy. Using accidental elements in German migration induced by policy, the paper demonstrates that the migrants generated significant long-term benefits in their regions through improved schooling infrastructure and increased literacy among the non-German population. The paper shows that educational improvements translated into higher growth of technologically advanced industries and increased the share of skillful occupations.

Department/s

  • Department of Economic History
  • Centre for Economic Demography

Publishing year

2023

Language

English

Document type

Working paper

Publisher

SSRN

Topic

  • Economic History

Keywords

  • Human Capital
  • Economic Growth
  • Democratic Institutions
  • Industrialization
  • I25
  • J15
  • N13
  • N33
  • O14
  • O33

Status

Published