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Abstract This paper studies nation-building. We explore the role of state-sponsored education in the adoption of a common language and the formation of a national identity in a fragmented society. At the time of the French Revolution, only ten percent of the population spoke the French language in France. Today, French is the common language. We digitize a detailed survey of the languages spoken across municipalities in France to document the process of homogenization in the nineteenth century. Using a regression discontinuity design, we demonstrate that state-sponsored education brought about the homogenization of language. Then, we study the geographical origins of the French language and the heterogeneous effects of schools. We find that elites and the demand for education were important drivers of homogenization. Finally, we document a persistent impact of nation-building on national identity and preferences for political centralization, with increased participation in the Resistance during World War II and votes against the 1969 referendum on regionalization.
Supplementary materials: online appendix
Presentations: Brown, ENS, UCLA, PSE, Stellenbosch, Cultural Evolution Society, ASREC, NEUDC, European Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society, Job Market Session North American Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society, Aix-Marseille, EIEF, CREI, UC3M, NES, RES |
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