The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in sub-Saharan Africa

Cag�, Julia; Rueda, Valeria

Abstract

This article investigates the long-term consequences of the printing press in the nineteenth century sub-Saharan Africa on social capital nowadays. Protestant missionaries were the first to import the printing press and to allow the indigenous population to use it. We build a new geocoded dataset locating Protestant missions in 1903. This dataset includes, for each mission station, the geographic location and its characteristics, as well as the printing-, educational-, and health-related investments undertaken by the mission. We show that, within regions close to missions, proximity to a printing press is associated with higher newspaper readership, trust, education, and political participation.

Citation

Cagé, J., & Rueda, V. (2016). The Long-Term Effects of the Printing Press in sub-Saharan Africa. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8(3), 69-99. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140379

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 31, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jul 31, 2016
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 15, 2019
• Journal: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
• Print ISSN: 1945-7782
• Electronic ISSN: 1945-7790
• Publisher: American Economic Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 69-99
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20140379
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2836709
• Publisher URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20140379