Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15640
Authors: Sascha O. Becker; Cheongyeon Won
Abstract: In the mid 19th century, pre-colonial Korea under the Joseon dynasty was increasingly isolated and lagging behind in its economic development. Joseon Korea was forced to sign unequal treaties with foreign powers as a result of which Christian missionaries entered the country and contributed to the establishment of private schools. We show that areas with a larger presence of Christians have higher literacy rates in 1930, during the Japanese colonial period. We also show that a higher number of Protestants is associated with higher female literacy, consistent with a stronger emphasis on female education in Protestant denominations.
Keywords: literacy; religion; missionaries; gender gap; korea
JEL Codes: I21; N35; Z12; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Christian priests per 1,000 inhabitants (Z12) | literacy rate (I21) |
| Christian ministers (Z12) | literacy rate (I21) |
| Protestant ministers (N33) | female literacy rate (J16) |
| Christian presence (Z12) | literacy rate (I21) |